Longtime Sag Harbor resident Marguerite Maggie" Lewis died at her home on March 17 following a brief illness. A broadway actress, ?artist, author, stage ?director and spiritual leader, she was 87.?Born on February 15, 1921, to Evelyn Scott Reynolds and Jesse Earl Lewis in Birmingham, Alabama, she was raised by her paternal grandparents following her parents' divorce. She later moved to Bronxville to join her mother, who had remarried.?An alumna of Brooklyn College, Ms. Lewis also attended Bennington College and won a scholarship to the prestigious Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts. This led to a career in the theater that began with her Broadway debut at age 20, appearing in "Uncle Harry" with Eva Le Gallienne and Joseph Schildkraut.?After touring with the production, she went on to perform in eight Broadway plays over the next 10 years, including "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" with Hume Cronyn, and "Private Lives" with Tallulah Bankhead. She also toured with Ms. Bankhead in "The Eagle Has Two Heads." During this period, her marriage of 10 years ended in divorce.?In the 1950s, Ms. Lewis decided to end her stage career and actively pursue her lifelong interest in the visual arts. She studied with Alexander Dobkin, director of the art school at the Educational Alliance in New York City, and later taught at the school. Her paintings and drawings were exhibited at the Esta Gallery and the ACA Gallery, and in 1957 she was given a one-woman show at the Educational Alliance's Living Arts Gallery.?In 1966 she moved from New York City to Sag Harbor, where she purchased a waterfront farmhouse on Glover Street. Built between 1930 and 1960, it lacked both running water and electricity. Semi-retired by this time, Ms. Lewis added a potting shed and a greenhouse and devoted herself to gardening and caring for her beloved poodles.?She also cooked professionally, wrote magazine articles about cooking, and sold cookies and antiques to cover renovation costs. She eventually built a new house on the property and subsequently moved to her final residence, an apartment on Main Street, in 2004.?Returning briefly to the theater in the late 1980s, Ms. Lewis directed the Community Theater Company in three productions at Guild Hall, including the madcap mystery "Seven Keys to Baldpate," the musical "Remains To Be Seen," and P.J. Barry's "The Octette Bridge Club," in which she also appeared.?Ms. Lewis ultimately embarked on a third career. After studying with Dr. Charles Barker, founder of the First Church of Religious Science, whose Sunday morning radio programs were broadcast from Alice Tully Hall, she became a licensed practitioner in the church and later an ordained minister. Beginning in 1990 she conducted Sunday morning services at various East End locations, primarily the Wainscott Chapel.?According to friends, she was always impeccably dressed and took special pride in her extensive collection of shoes. Despite her failing health, they said, she was in great spirits, wearing a chic pantsuit and a standout pair of gold lamé sneakers at her 87th birthday party held on February 16.?A memorial service, conducted by Reverend Mavis Stephenson, will be held on Friday, April 4, at 2 p.m. at the Wainscott Chapel.
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on Mar 24, 2008