John David "J D" Lewis

John David (J. D.) Lewis Ph.D., age 66, Chemistry Professor at St. Edward's University passed away Sunday, June 9th 2013 after a short battle with an aggressive cancer. He was born May 8th, 1947 in Seguin, TX. He was named after his parents' beloved grandfathers, John Karbach and David Lewis. Different family/social groups called him by different names - Immediate Family = "David", Cousins and School mates = "John David", College and beyond = "J.D."

J.D. attended school in the Bandera, TX ISD. While in high school, chemistry teacher Mr. Marion shared his love of chemistry with J.D. Years later J.D. was able to share his love of chemistry with his own students. After graduating from Bandera High School, he attended Texas Lutheran College in Sequin, TX where he met Karron. He then went on to get his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Texas A&M. He and Karron moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1974 to help develop Teaching Modules for Teaching Assistants in Chemistry. J.D. also had a post-doc and taught chemistry to classes of 200+.

J.D. began teaching at St. Edwards in fall 1975 and taught there for 37 years. He also served in a number of administrative capacities at the university including as chair of the Department of Chemistry and subsequently chair of the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences. He was Dean of the School of Natural Sciences, and Vice President for the Undergraduate College.

From an announcement on the SEU homepage:

Dr. Lewis had a profound impact on our university from the day he began teaching in the department of Chemistry in 1975. Since then, he taught over 50 different courses in general education, computer science, mathematics, physics, and science. He was influential in expanding the Department of Chemistry's Senior Seminar, and was known for incorporating his wry sense of humor into his courses. He regularly organized trips for students to present their research at national meetings of the American Chemical Society, and was active in mentoring students in undergraduate research, the results of which were frequent collaborative publications in international, peer-reviewed journals. His commitment to teaching was recognized in 1994 when he received the St. Edward's University Teaching Excellence Award, and again this year with the receipt of the Distinguished Career Teaching Award.

Several of his recent students, upon hearing that he was in the hospital, wrote ...

• Dr. Lewis is one of my favorite teachers and one who will always have a special place in my heart. I was his student and his TA and I could not have asked for a better chemistry teacher. Could you let him know that I always enjoyed his redneck jokes and that I miss chemistry because of him. Dr. Lewis…thank you for all the knowledge you bestowed on me, you are an amazing teacher and are loved greatly. A big hug from me.

• I appreciate all the opportunities he gave us. Especially taking all of us to conferences! He opened our eyes to the bigger scientific world! I will hopefully defend for my Ph.D. this year and that's something I could not have accomplished without his help.

J.D.'s sense of humor and his belief that all students have the ability to become scientists endeared him to students. He loved to go to Disney World and his favorite character was Donald Duck. He was also a fan of Science Fiction, Superman, and he was a history buff.

J.D. and Karron attended St. John's Lutheran Church when they first moved to Austin and they were charter members of Abiding Love Lutheran Church which started in 1980. J.D. taught Sunday School classes for high school students in the 70s and has recently taught adult Sunday School classes for more than six years. He served on numerous church committees. He truly believed that God's hand was in all scientific knowledge and discoveries and shared those beliefs in many of his conversations.

J. D. was a recreational botanist who loved to plant and care for trees and other plants. He spent years working with the grafting various fruit trees to see what species would work well together. His love for the outdoors inevitably stemmed from his time spent in nature growing up in Pipe Creek where he spent his summers plowing fields and bailing hay. Later in life he enjoyed his time maintaining the family property in Bandera country - building barbed wire fences and chopping down overgrowth - and caring for the cows living there.

He loved to travel and he completed his bucket list item of visiting all 50 states when he visited Alaska in 2011. He enjoyed several trips to a number of the Canadian Provinces and Europe as well, especially time spent in Germany and England.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in memory of Dr. JD Lewis to either of the following:

• Abiding Love Lutheran Church, 7210 Brush Country Road, Austin, TX 78749

• Designated to the Dr. JD Lewis Memorial Fund at St. Edward's University, University Advancement, 3001 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78704-6489. Contributions can also be made online. For more information contact Joe DeMedeiros, Associate Vice President for Development at [email protected] or 512-233-1443.