AUBURN — The N.K. Lewis Center on Lake Street was named Thursday and dedicated in memory of its longtime director.

Nancy Lewis of Strong directed the Regional Educational Treatment Center/Success of Students from 1982 to 2015. The former is a regional program for special needs children; the latter supports special needs students from Edward Little High School.

A plaque with the new name was hung by Lewis’ niece, Mary Letourneau of Minot. About 40 people attended the ceremony, many of them telling stories about Lewis, who passed away July 8 at the age of 73.

Cynthia Morgan said Lewis knew about Thursday’s event and was hoping to attend.

“She wanted this to go on,” Morgan said.

Paul Carignan said Lewis gave him a shot and hired him to work at RETC.

“Don’t ever use sarcasm in front of a kid,” Carignan remembers Lewis teaching him. “That sticks with me to this day.”

He said children with special needs may take sarcasm the wrong way.

“I’m always referring back to my Nancy Lewis handbook,” he said. “She was a pretty impressive lady.”


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: