Roy “Pop” Lewis, patriarch of bluegrass gospel group the Lewis Family, died March 23 at Wills Memorial Hospital in Washington, Ga. He was 98.
Lewis and wife Pauline Holloway formed the Lewis Family in 1925. It went on to become one of gospel’s most successful performing families. A member of the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame, Lewis performed with the family group well into his 90s, but in recent years poor health kept him off the road. However, he performed last May at the annual Lewis Family Homecoming & Bluegrass Festival in Lincolton, Ga. He is best remembered for the song “Just One Rose Will Do.”
“Mom” Lewis passed away in February 2003; the couple had been married 77 years.