Wendell G. Lewellen III

Lewellen, Buck 6/29/1948 - 2/9/2015 Ann Arbor, Michigan Lewellen, Wendell G., IIIknown to family and friends as Buckpassed away peacefully at his home on February 9th, 2015 following a courageous and spirited two-year battle with esophageal cancer. He was 65. With him at the time of his death were his wife, Jeanne; sons, Nick and Andrew; sister Cindy; and one-year-old black Lab, Keen. Buck was born on June 28th, 1949 in Detroit, MI, to Wendell Gladstone Jr. and Jane Thomas Lewellen, who preceded him in death. In 1956, Buck moved with his family to Ann Arbor, where he grew up with his three siblings: Cindy, Tom, and Barb. After graduating from Ann Arbor High School in 1967, he attended the College of Wooster, in Wooster, OH, graduating in 1971. He majored in biology, joined and served as President of the Kappa Phi Sigma fraternity, developed friendships that lasted his lifetime, and met Jeanne Hamilton. The college became important to Buck and Jeanne, and Nick and Andrew both graduated from Wooster. He enjoyed reunions with college friends in Wooster and throughout the country. Buck and Jeanne married in 1971. They moved to Ypsilanti, MI, and Buck began working with his father at Imperial Industries in Belleville, MI. He devoted his career to the company, eventually becoming President and owner. Buck will be remembered for the care, honesty, and respect with which he treated his business relationships, products, and, most importantly, his employees. In 1975, he and Jeanne moved to Ann Arbor to start a family. From 1992-1995, the family lived in Dexter, then moved back to Ann Arbor, to the house where Buck lived the rest of his life. Buck's passions were his family, work, pets, and boating on Lake Bellaire, in northern Michigan. As a boy, he loved early morning canoe trips and fly-fishing with his grandfather. As an adult, he enjoyed sailing his Old Town sailboat and Hobiecat, and taking family for rides in his speedboat and pontoon boat. Buck will best be remembered by his familyparticularly his nieces and nephews, who always lovingly called him "Uncle Buck"sitting on a boat on a beautiful summer day on Lake Bellaire with his beloved black Lab, Kelly. Buck will be laid to rest in Peninsula Township Cemetery, on Old Mission Peninsula, where he and Jeanne purchased a second home in 2010. Along with his wife and sons, Buck is survived by his daughter-in-law Aishwarya Nukala; grandchildren Josephine and Leo; siblings Cindy (Chris) Coble of Indianapolis, IN; Tom (Laura) Lewellen of Highland, MI; Barbara (Douglas) Powell of Lafayette, IN; eleven nieces and nephews, and five great-nephews. Visitation will take place on Thursday, February 19th, from 4:00 8:00 pm at Muehlig's Funeral Chapel. A memorial service will be held at 11:00am on Friday, February 20th, preceded by visitation with the family at 10:00am, at First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor. Following the service, a memorial luncheon will be held at Weber's Inn. Memorial donations can be made to the Humane Society of Huron Valley at 3100 Cherry Hill Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 or to The College of Wooster, Office of Development, 1189 Beall Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691. The family would like to thank the staff of Regency at Bluffs Park and Arbor Hospice for making the final weeks of Buck's life a positive, comfortable, and fulfilling time.