Kendall Lewis ’39

Kendall LewisKendall Lewis died peacefully, after a brief illness, on Thursday, October 30, at Piper Shores in Scarborough, ME.

Mr. Lewis was born in Abington, PA, the son of James McKeen Lewis and Alice Kendall Lewis. He first met his wife of nearly 66 years, Betsey Converse Lewis, when they were both teenagers living in Stony Creek, CT.

Mr. Lewis graduated from Williston Academy in 1939, and went on to Yale College, but left to serve in the Navy during World War II. His service was mostly in the Pacific aboard the light cruiser, the USS Denver. After the war he returned to Yale and completed his degree in Industrial Engineering, graduating as a member of the class of 1943. During the war Mr. Lewis re-encountered Betsey Converse and asked for her hand. They were married on December 4, 1948 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New Haven, CT.

Mr. Lewis’s career in the folding paper box industry took them from their first home in New London, CT to New Jersey, and then to Pennsylvania, adding three children to the family along the way: Margaret Lewis, now of New Haven, CT, Elizabeth (Abby) Lewis Bates, now of Cos Cob, CT, and Thornton Lewis, currently of Shanghai, China. Much to Mr. Lewis’s delight those children brought seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren into his life, with one more great-grandchild expected in January.

In retirement the Lewises returned to their mutual childhood home of Stony Creek, CT. While living there, Mr. Lewis served as a Vestry Member and Senior Warden of Zion Episcopal Church of North Branford, CT. During those same years, the Lewises made a habit of spending summers sailing “down east” on the coast of Maine in their sloop, the “Skylark.” In 2003, they left their Stony Creek home to settle at Piper Shores within sight of their favorite down-east coastline. It was a particular point of pride to Mr. Lewis that his children and grandchildren have travelled and settled in far-flung parts of the world, living their lives on a global stage. Members of the family assembled from five different US states, and four different continents to be with their father and grandfather in the final stage of his life. That they came from these great distances was a testament to the close family ties he valued so deeply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.