Sylvia Dawn Lewis McManus

life story

A beautiful, hardworking lady who was a proud American

After years of joyful living and all the good and the bad that life brings, Dawn is with those of her family that she has lost. Life will move forward, enriched by the lessons she taught and the example she set.

Farewell to Dawn

Sylvia “Dawn” McManus née Lewis was born on June 15, 1931 in Los Angeles, California to Pearl Murrell Lewis and Gladys Marie Prose. Dawn was born on her mother’s 18th birthday. Dawn was only five years old when her mother passed away in the hospital due to pneumonia. Her grandmother, Myrtle, took in Dawn and her sister, Juanita. The girls grew up in a home with their aunts who were like sisters. The girls adored their grandmother who was strict but also loved them deeply and cared for them.

Dawn enjoyed her years in High School, in the late 1940s in Escondido, California. She joined every club and association she could. She claimed she wasn’t a very good student, but she enjoyed the social parts so much that she hated to miss school. Once when Juanita teased Dawn by flirting with her boyfriend, Dawn kicked Juanita and fell backward, breaking her own arm on the frame of the swing. Dawn said she was miserable mostly because she had to miss so much school. She and her friends ran for Grape Day queen in Escondido and Dawn was very proud to be one of the 10 finalists.

Dawn met Ken Cook before her senior year of high school. They had three children together: Carolyn Marie, Marilyn “Denise”, and Kenneth Richard Jr. They later divorced. She expressed that she couldn’t have asked for better children than Carolyn, Denise, and Kenny. She raised them mostly on her own and with great financial struggle. She always expressed how grateful she was to have the “best in-laws in the world”. Dawn loved Ken’s parents, Stan and Bernice Cook who treated her like their own daughter and loved their grandchildren fiercely.

Dawn moved with her children to San Juan Capistrano in the early 1960s where she had a job working as a checker at Vons supermarket. She scraped by as she did her best to give her children what she could. Dawn loved Christmas. She made this holiday special for her children. There were years when she would skip meals to save money so she could buy gifts for her children for Christmas. And as the years went by, she insisted on having the extended family at her home on that special day. The decorations were plentiful, as was the food and Christmas music. She wore christmas themed sweaters, sweatshirts or aprons, many that she had decorated herself.

In 1973, Dawn married the love of her life, Bernard McManus. Bernie and Dawn had gone to the same high school and had reconnected. Theirs was a great love story as they spent their years together working hard, traveling the world, and doing the things they loved most. They watched football, bowled, took care of their home, and followed politics as devoted Republicans. Together they were model citizens, and their great love of their country was a defining part of their identities. With every letter Dawn mailed, she would write “God Bless America” or “Support our Troops” on the envelope. No one who knew either of them doubted their love for their country.

Dawn loved to craft and through the years, she spent hours involved in many crafting endeavors. She crocheted, sewed, made jewelry, made dream catchers, and decorated many sweatshirts with paint, among other things. She loved Disney motifs, and Betty Boop was one of her favorites. She loved to shop. Dawn loved to find good deals and handy gadgets. She shopped for gifts for her family and friends. She was always organized and took great pride in keeping her things in perfect, like-new condition. She and Bernie loved to laugh. Dawn was particularly amused by Bernie’s silly sense of humor.

In the late 1980s, Dawn and Bernie moved to Oroville, California. They bought property in the mountains where they had a beautiful home. They enjoyed years of their retirement there until they moved to Chico where they had another beautiful home with neighbors that became like family to them. In May, 2013, Bernie passed away after having a heart attack. Her grief and heartache was carried with her until her death. Dawn was not complete without him.

Dawn then moved to Laguna Woods by her son, Ken and her daughter-in-law, Karen. During these years, she lived closer to her family and had many visits with them. She got to better know her great grand children. Her final days were spent with Ken and Karen in their home in Palm Desert where she enjoyed their companionship and care. When her time finally came to return to her great love, Bernie and her daughters, Carolyn and Denise; Dawn was ready.

She had a beautiful life of joy and, of course, the deepest of sorrow. She had built a life she enjoyed and was grateful for the things she had.

Dawn was preceded in death by her husband, Bernie; her mother, Gladys Marie Prose; her daughters, Carolyn and Denise; and her grandson, Kenny. She left behind her son, Ken and her step-children: Suzanne Williams, Kathy Escobar, and Mike McManus. She also left behind many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.