JOANNE MARCIA WAXMAN LEWIS (5 JUNE 1933 - 18 FEBRUARY 2024) was an educator and local historian.
Lewis was born in Cleveland and moved to CLEVELAND HEIGHTS at the age of 12, attending Roxboro Junior High School. She graduated from Cleveland Heights High School, where she is in the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. After high school, Lewis attended the University of Michigan, earning degrees in English and Art History in 1955.
She authored four books about local history, including To Market, To Market, a manuscript on the history, architecture, and people of the WEST SIDE MARKET.
Lewis was the founder of the Nuclear Age Resource Center (now the Global Issues Resource Center), a CUYAHOGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE based nonprofit that sought to empower people through education initiatives. Lewis spent 20 years employed there. She also sat on the boards of the Near West Theater and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Lewis was married to Robert L. Lewis, who was a founding board member of Tri-C. The couple was married for 42 years and had five children and nine grandchildren. Following his 2005 death, Joanne Lewis established the Robert L. Lewis Academy of Scholars in his honor.
"Joanne Lewis," The Heights Magazine.