Florence Marigold Stinnett Lewis was born on Aug. 27, 1874 at Smithwick, Texas to George and Nancy Jane Stinnett. She was the youngest of four children.

Her father died when she was eight years old. Soon her brothers and sister had left home. Her mother decided to move to Burnet and study nursing, although keeping their land and home at Smithwick. She and Florence both worked for Dr. Jennings who had the first hospital in Burnet. They were trained to care for the patients.

Florence was married on March 3, 1892 to Frank Lewis who had grown up at Spicewood. Sadness entered their lives when their first baby, a little girl, died at four months of age. But the next few years produced five sons in a row. Clarence, Virgil, Theron, Owen and Carroll. Three more girls; Beryl, Bernice and Ruby and a son, Phillip would follow. Sadly Bernice was injured at age six and died from blood poisoning.

The parents were busy running a general store (the first of which burned) and acquiring land, caring for a home, garden, orchards and animals. Frank carried the mail and was deputized to serve as a deputy in this remote corner of Burnet county. Additionally, Florence delivered many a baby in this community far from doctors.

Florence was a Christian and attended the Church of Christ until her failing health made that impossible. She loved flowers and cultivated them in her yard against great odds. Her favorite song was As the Life of a Flower and she requested that it be sung at her funeral. The words are sad, but realizing the hardships of the early days she lived in they are comforting.

As the Life of a Flower

As the life of a flower, as a breath or a sigh,
So the years that we live as a dream hasten by;
True, today we are here, but tomorrow may see
Just a grave in the vale, and a memory of me.

Refrain:
As the life of a flower,
As a breath or a sigh,
So the years glide away,
And alas, we must die.

As the life of a flower, be our lives pure and sweet,
May we brighten the way for the friends that we greet;
And sweet incense arise from our hearts, as we live
Close to Him who doth teach us to love and forgive.

Refrain:

While we tarry below let us trust and adore
Him who leads us each day toward the radiant shore
Where the sun never sets, and the flowers never fade,
Where no sorrow or death may its borders invade.

Refrain: