Robert E. Lewis

Robert Eugene Lewis passed away peacefully on March 31, 2019 at his home in the Eastern Star Retirement Campus in Denver Colorado. He was born on October 21, 1922 to Leona Foster Lewis and Millard Lawson Lewis at home in Jerome Idaho. Gene was the 7th of 9 children and the 3rd boy. He was named by his sisters Olive Pearl and Ferne Creola. They had wanted to include the names Robert and Eugene and call him Gene but Eugene Robert didn't sound quite right so they named him Robert Eugene. Friends and family always called him Gene, he was forever Notbob. Gene is survived by his four children, Craig Carleton, Teresa Ann (Terry), Mark Stephen, Kent Alan; 3 grandchildren, Dane Alan, Tiphanie Rae, Jack Raphael and 2 great grandchildren, Carter Alan and Everly May. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Carol Louise who passed away on February 11, 2018 and by his 8 siblings and their parents.

Life was not easy growing up on a farm, there were many chores to tackle as well as the requirement of attending school. The family moved around quite a bit in the early years as well. After graduating from high school in 1940, Gene went to the University of Idaho where he excelled in hanging out with friends and partying. He enlisted in the United States Navy and by all accounts (including his own) turned his life around. Gene became a sonar man in Bremerton Washington, learning how to protect the bay from enemy ships and submarines. Upon completion of his three year enlistment, Gene went back to college at the University of Idaho intending to obtain his degree in engineering. One of his engineering professors told him he would never make it as an engineer so Gene changed his degree to English. And the rest is history…

Gene met the love of his life, Carol Van Doren while teaching English at a small school in Gervais Oregon in 1954. At first, they would get together with other teachers for group outings in the evenings. As their friends gradually withdrew from the group, Gene and Carol began to date exclusively. They married on August 14, 1955 in Klamath Falls Oregon. A little over a year later, their first child, a son, Craig was born. Carol was pregnant each of the following three years after little Craig was born! When asked about it later, Carol would always say that she would have done it the same way if she had had to do it over again.

Life went on and except for a little hiccup involving an Electrolux vacuum cleaner, all was well with the Lewis household. In 1964 the opportunity arose for Gene to travel to the state of Hawaii to introduce an English curriculum he had developed, to the high school students attending the Kamehameha Schools. It was to be a one year assignment.

Once he had fulfilled his year, Gene was asked to stay on as the head of the high school English department. He readily accepted and went back to Portland Oregon to pack up the house and get a renter until they decided to sell. The family moved into a dormitory apartment on the Kamehameha Schools Campus and the duty of Dorm Master was added to Gene's teaching responsibilities. It was so worth it. They didn't have to pay rent so they saved every penny to put towards the purchase of a house. In the summer of 1967, they moved into a house on the windward side of O'ahu in Kahalu'u.

Ahhhhh, paradise! Not long after the family settled in to their new house, Gene discovered a new love---sailing! He would accompany a friend on his boat and eventually purchased a 20 footer himself. He named her Kalola after his wife Carol. He joined the Kane'ohe Yacht Club where he was able to participate in races in the bay with other boats of the same type.

Retirement creeped up in 1988 and Gene took up the piano. He had always wanted to learn. He diligently practiced every day. After a while he decided that he just wasn't cut out to play the piano and since music is a big part of life in the islands, he began singing with the Honolulu Chorale. Gene also participated in a bowling league. He was a prolific bowler and owned balls of many colors that his children teased him about every chance they got.

Gene and Carol loved to go visit the grandkids in California. As age began making itself known, the long flight from Hawaii was getting harder to withstand so they began to look for a place to settle down in the mainland that was affordable and closer to the grandkids. After many trips exploring communities in different states, Gene and Carol decided to move to Palm Desert in California. FINALLY the Lewis family got a pool in their backyard!!! But…none of the kids lived nearby so it was mostly Carol who used the pool. Gene would visit the senior center to take computer classes as well as classes to refresh his Spanish language skills. He had a lifelong love of the Spanish language and had always wished he could speak it fluently. Fortunately he was able to find a Bowling Alley nearby and he quickly joined a league. He had transported his colorful balls from Hawaii and eventually purchased a few more! As you can imagine, there were a lot more family jokes about those balls.

After about 5 years or so, Mark and Terry convinced Gene and Carol to move to Colorado so that they could be closer to family. Some new family traditions were started that included Sunday breakfasts at the Mark Lewises followed by treks to the nearest Goodwill store.

As the years passed, it became apparent that it was time for Gene and Carol to move into an assisted living facility. They moved into Harvard Square and really enjoyed their time there. Gene was able to continue bowling and they even met a couple from Hawaii! As it happens in life, after a couple more moves, Carol moved into a Memory Care facility that didn't have Assisted Living accommodations and Dad moved into another Assisted Living facility. The separation was hard on the both of them and finally took its toll when Carol passed away on February 11, 2018 and then Gene passed away on March 31, 2019. They are together again.

We miss our parents with all our hearts and thank them for the wonderful life they gave us.