Marlene Frances Lewis

Marlene Lewis, nee Hahnfeld, 92, of Affton, MO, passed away on December 31, 2025. Born on March 28, 1933, the daughter of Erich Ernst Hahnfeld of Schoenau auf dem Eigen, Germany, and Mary Lucille Chambers of Charleston, MO. She was preceded in death by her husband Elvet Lewis and her son, David Richard Busch. She is survived by 2 sons, 1 grandson, two great granddaughters and one great grandson, and two daughters-in-law, Xuan Busch of Torrence, CA and Sandra Walther of Fenton.

Marlene graduated from Affton High School, having played on their volleyball team, and in the late 1940s became the queen of Job’s Daughters in the Gardenville Masonic Temple. Upon graduating high school, she became a model for Famous-Barr stores.

While a youth, she began learning piano and while not progressing to beyond advanced amateur, she would torment her sons regularly by constantly attempting to play Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. But gave her sons a love of music, especially for Chopin and music generally.

In the 1960s she renewed a childhood interest in drawing. This developed more as she attended courses at Webster University and trained briefly under renowned St. Louis artist, Dhimitri Zonia. Several of her paintings and pen with ink drawings of Carondelet history hung in the old Broadway branch of the Southern Commercial Bank. She also worked for an art studio changing black and white portraits mainly of businessmen and wedding couples into large oil paintings. Her last works of art are in her son's possession and are two large quilts. One is original scenes from the Nutcracker Suite and the other is the 12 days of Christmas. Later in life she ran a wholesale meat delivery business with her husband, while traveling summers in their RV, and became obsessively interested in genealogy.

Memorials are appreciated in lieu of flowers to Our Savior Lutheran Church (sanctuary improvement project), 1500 San Simeon Way, Fenton, Mo 63026.

Prepared with love from her Son, Walter E. Busch.

Visitation will be held from 9:30-11am, Friday, January 9, 2026 at John L. Ziegenhein and Sons City Chapel, 7020 Gravois Ave. St. Louis, MO 63116. A funeral service will be held following the visitation beginning at 11am, also at the funeral home. Interment will be private at Lakewood Park Cemetery, Affton, MO