Funeral program of Deaconess Josie Ware Lewis: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Digital copy of a funeral program for Deaconess Josie Ware Lewis. The program is printed in black ink on light pink paper. There are three sheets, folded once and bound at center with a staple to form eight pages. The sizes of the pages gradually increase so that the right edge of each sheet is visible at the right side of the program and printed vertically with the content: [ORDER OF SERVICES / PRECIOUS MEMORIES / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS]. The front cover reads [A Celebration / In Memory of the Life of / Deaconess Josie Ware / Lewis / Sunrise July 24, 1897 - September 23, 1999, Sunset]. At center is a small illustration of a butterfly and roses. Beath this is information about the service, which was held at First Baptist Church North Tulsa.

The first interior page has a portrait of Lewis, followed by the order of service on the second page. This is followed by a two-page obituary titled [Precious Memories of Josie's Life]. The obituary contains details of Lewis's life in Texas, Kansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, especially her many years of service at the First Baptist Church of North Tulsa, her charity and community work, and her various employment in food service roles. This is followed by [Expressions of Gratitude] at the bottom of page five. Page six has another portrait of Lewis and a prayer titled ["Out of the Depths" / Sis. Josie's Testimony]. The next page has the pall bearers, floral attendant, and information for Jack's Memory Chapel. The back page is blank except for a small message at bottom center reading [Printed with loving care by / ETERNALLY YOURS].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1999
• Printed by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Josie Ware Lewis, American, 1897 - 1999
• Subject of: First Baptist Church of North Tulsa, American, founded 1899
• Subject of: Jack's Memory Chapel, American, founded 1948
• Owned by: Eddie Faye Gates, American, 1934 - 2021
• Type: digital images
• Type: programs
• Type: digital media - born analog
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: File size (overall): 482.08 MB
• Place collected: Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American South
• Topic: American West
• Topic: Baptist
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Funeral customs and rites
• Topic: Prayer
• Object number: 2014.117.66
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Eddie Faye Gates, Tulsa OK, author, historian, community activist
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.