Ulysses Grant Lewis Jr.

Ulysses Grant Lewis, Jr., age 84, a long-time resident of Arlington, Virginia died on November 22, 2010 at The Jefferson in Arlington, Virginia. He was a survivor of the bitter 1944 Battle of the Bulge and retired as a Career Staff Chief of the former U.S. Army Map Service on MacArthur Boulevard in Washington, D.C.

In his last years, he fought a patient battle with Alzheimer’s disease, dying peacefully. His last moments were mercifully short and spent with adoring family and Hospice staff around him.

Mr. Lewis was born on February 5, 1926 at his family home in Southeast Washington. He grew up during the turbulent years of the Bonus March and the Depression. In his youth, he “served papers” in the Navy Yard area, rode the streetcars to baseball games and encountered all sorts of people.

Grant’s family ancestry was established on the Northern Neck of Virginia, first explored in 1746 by Thomas Lewis and Peter Jefferson, the father of Thomas. As he grew older, he spent considerable time and many summers there in a world of farming, harvesting, horses and various adventures.

At 18, Grant was an enlisted man in the U.S. Army and was sent in 1944 into the Belgian Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge. The American ground troops were issued boots that were not waterproof and penetrated by water during that bitter winter they froze and brought frostbite. Most soldiers lost some toes; Grant lost all of his toes.

At war’s end, Grant became employed at the former U.S. Army Map Service on MacArthur Boulevard where he would serve for over thirty years. He retired in 1985 as a Photography Technical Staff Chief.

He married Josephine H. Lewis in 1951. They lived in North Arlington throughout their lives. Mrs. Lewis died at The Jefferson in May, 2005. They are survived by their daughter, Diane Lee Lewis of Alexandria, Virginia; son, David Grant Lewis of Conway, South Carolina and two grandchildren. Also survived by Grant’s younger brother, John Lewis, a minister in West Virginia and sister, Shirley Mahan of Virginia.

Throughout his life he was a good friend and was kind and helpful to all those around him. Even in his last days, he maintained a fine sense ofhumor and exemplary patience.

He never let his war wounds hold him back. He learned dancing at Arthur Murray and in 2009 was the life of the party at a dinner at The Jefferson. Mr. Lewis astounded all of the guests with his smooth dance technique, was sought out by admiring ladies and was living once again in the Roaring Twenties. At the end of that evening, he suddenly said to his daughter,

“That’s it!”

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on March 11, 2011 at the Fort Myer Old Post Chapel where inurnment will follow at Arlington National Cemetery. Arrangements under the direction of Arlington Funeral Home, Arlington, VA.