Continuing to shine

Ask Jerome Lewis how he is doing on any given day, and he will always give you the same answer.

“Blessed and so very grateful,” he will say, his mouth turned up in a brilliant smile.

By speaking to him, you would never know that for more than two years, the beloved head custodian at Crestline Elementary School has been battling cancer. Despite his thinning frame and the cancer treatments that took him away from his Crestline family and all the way to Houston, Lewis had always found his way back to the hallways of the school.

This past May, however, things changed.

Principal Laurie King broke the news to her school that this time, Mr. Jerome would not be coming back. 

“It is with deep sadness that we had to announce to the students that Jerome would not be returning to work due to his illness,” 

Earlier that same month, the school had gathered to celebrate the man they had all come to love.

Lewis, who worked at Crestline for nearly 10 years, recently was voted as the Cintas Corporation Nationwide Janitor of the Year. During a May 2 ceremony at the elementary school, Shawn King, marketing manager at Cintas, said Lewis raked in more than 25 percent of the half-million votes cast nationwide. 

The crowd erupted in applause. 

A banner congratulating Lewis unrolled above the stage as cheers from excited students and their 

teachers echoed through the building’s hallways. Cintas then presented Crestline Principal Laurie King with a $5,000 check for Lewis and a $5,000 check for the school, as well as an engraved award recognizing Lewis as the “Janitor of the Year.” 

Crestline’s cougar mascot, Champ, opened the ceremony with a “We love Jerome! He’s No. 1!” chant, joined by gleeful students. Representatives from each of the school’s grades made their way to the microphone, where one by one, each presented a special gift in Lewis’ name. Students made several items for Lewis: books listing the many reasons why they love him, a CD in his honor and a T-shirt featuring a tree made with students’ fingerprints. As students, teachers and parents reflected on their time with “Mr. Jerome,” as they call him, the tears began to flow. 

Though Lewis himself could not attend the ceremony after falling ill, King reminded the crowd that he was right there with them.

“He asked me to tell you all, ‘Thank you, kid,’” King said.

‘Outpouring of affection’

Speaking a few days after the announcement by phone from his East Lake home, which he shares with his 14-year-old son Gabriel and wife June, Lewis said it was the children he worked with every day that kept him coming back.

“When I’m around the kids, they share their love with me,” Lewis said. “They pour it out to me, and I pour it right back out to them. It heals me.”

In thanking the community for what it had done for him, Lewis said he was humbled by the honor.

“I appreciate the community’s diligence in making this happen, in doing something for somebody,” he said. “They didn’t have to do this, but the community had a burning desire and a perseverance to see this through, [and] I’ll always be grateful for that.”

Lewis said although this may have been the most public showing of the community’s appreciation for him, the Mountain Brook community has always been there.

“The people in this community have never neglected their housekeepers,” he said. “They have always shown an outpouring of affection, always. We have been recognized and are recognized, always.” 

Working in the area, especially working so closely with children, has been a “beautiful experience,” he said. 

Lewis was born in Birmingham in 1951 and grew up in Woodlawn. His family, all 12 of his brothers and sisters, lived there until their father died, and he eventually moved to Avondale. 

“I came up during the Civil Rights era,” Lewis said. “We saw racism — lived it.”

But inside his home, Lewis said his mother, Annie B. Lewis, showed her children so much love the family made it through. 

“My mom is the reason we had so many good times,” he said. “We just made it through the best we could.”

After graduating from Hayes High School, Lewis said he went on to do all types of jobs, from working at golf courses to a steel plant.

It was at the steel plant that Lewis remembers finding God. The door to the furnace was open, he said, when he heard a voice.

“I can hear it, still to this day, perfectly clear,” Lewis said. “It was the voice of God, and he said, ‘Hell is hotter.’”

Since then, Lewis said he found peace by yielding to the Lord.

“He put a smile on my face that day,” he said. “That’s why I am with Christ. He’s in me. I can’t help but talk about it. What he’s done and is doing in my life, no mortal man can do — it’s got to be God.”

In an interview with Village Living earlier this year, Lynn Ortis said Lewis put his own cancer diagnosis aside when he learned her son and former Crestline student Sid was sick. One Thanksgiving, when Sid was sick in the hospital, Ortis said Lewis visited them along with his wife and son. Lewis said God had told him to visit the family in the hospital. Sid passed away in late 2015.

“We all held hands and prayed together,” Ortis said. “It was just … it was absolutely just a surreal moment. It was beautiful.”

Reflecting on that moment and everything else Lewis had done for the family by just being Jerome, Ortis said he is the “closest to Jesus on this Earth” that she’s ever seen. 

Throughout the celebration honoring Lewis, students also talked of Lewis’ close relationship with God. They spoke of his caring heart and his infectious personality.

“I’ve never seen him without a smile,” one student said. “Every action he takes, he shows God,” said another.

It’s been that way since he began working at Crestline, King said. Lewis has always captured the hearts of those he comes in contact with. Despite his own struggles, she said Lewis always remembered to ask about the troubles of Crestline’s students and parents. 

When news spread that Lewis had been selected as one of 10 national finalists competing for the Janitor of the Year award, the Mountain Brook community rallied behind him. For an entire month, from March through April 15, the community voted continuously to ensure Lewis came out on top, much like they did in helping to fund his trips to Houston for treatment. 

Dale Wisely, director of student services for Mountain Brook Schools, said Lewis made it to the final round of voting based on the number of people who nominated him.

“That’s impressive, given that it’s one school in a small town,” Wisely said. “Jerome is beloved by this community in ways I can’t even describe. He is without question one of the finest people I have ever known. No one leaves an encounter with this man unchanged.”

Drawing strength

When Lewis was diagnosed with cancer, students, faculty and parents watched as he not only battled the cancer diagnosis but faced it head-on. Lewis, said student after student at the ceremony, never before let his diagnosis keep him from the work or the people he loves. 

Lewis had continued to work at the school at his own insistence until early May.

“I draw strength from being around these kids,” he said about what drives him to keep working.

Lewis was so devoted to his job and the school that it wasn’t unusual to see him reading or walking the halls hours before his shift was set to begin.  “It’s exciting,” he said, before it was known that he would be unable to return to the school. “I love coming to work.”

Through it all, Lewis said the Crestline community has always been right there with him. “It’s like family,” he said. “When one part hurts, all hurts. When one part rejoices, all rejoices.”

Lewis said that as long as he is on this Earth, he will continue down the path chosen for him.

“This is my mission,” he said, “sowing into these tender hearts while they’re sponges.”

No matter how this life may end, Lewis said he has a simple vow.

“I’ll be finishing it with joy,” he said. 

Editor's Note: Jerome Lewis passed away in June, after this story was published. Village Living extends its deepest sympathies to the Lewis family.