Longtime Cumberland County bus driver and very well-known Homestead cowgirl Sylvia Lewis took her final trip today in only the way she would have wanted – a mule-driven wagon. Sylvia had a deep love for her animals and it showed throughout her life. Not only was she at home on the farm, but she drove a school bus for many years and loved her children more than life itself.

Sylvia suffered a massive stroke last Tuesday while taking her students to Crab Orchard Elementary School. Even though she knew something had gone terribly wrong, she made certain to get her bus off the road and stopped for the safety of the students. She told the kids to not worry about her. Her last act on earth was to ensure her students were safe. The students and faculty of Crab Orchard Elementary School wore red ribbons with the words “Sylvia, Our Hero.”

Today, Sylvia was carried to the City Cemetery by a mule-driven wagon, observed by hundreds of onlookers, many of them from the Homestead Community where Sylvia lived her life caring for her family, neighbors and, of course, her animals.