Burt Lewis

Burton A. Lewis, 99, of Chicago, civil and structural engineer who spent most of his 40 year career on managing the design of transportation projects, passed away on Sunday, October 13, 2024, due to complications from a fall.

Born in Chicago, Mr. Lewis was a graduate of Trumbull Elementary School and Senn High School. He received a BS in Civil Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and an MS from the University of Illinois in Champaign. His university education was interrupted by service in the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII. He served in the European theater of operations in France and Germany. He was discharged from active service in 1946 as a Staff Seargent. He then served in the Army Reserves until his retirement in 1967 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

His civilian career began with the Austin Company in Chicago designing large industrial facilities. The remaining 35 years of his career was with DeLeuw Cather and Co. (currently the Parson Corp.) in Chicago and offices outside of Chicago (San Francisco, Pasadena, Kuwait, New Jersey, and Phoenix) managing the design of transportation projects. He retired as Vice President and manager of the Phoenix office where he was manager of the 55 mile Phoenix Outer Loop Project. Other notable projects were the Los Angeles Airport's Second Level Roadway, the Port Access Highway in Anchorage, freeways in Sydney, Australia, and Las Vegas, and dozens of railroad grade separation projects in California. While resident in Kuwait, he was project manager for a planning study to complete the Kuwait urban highway system.

Mr. Lewis was a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He served for 8 years on the executive committee of the Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering serving as chairman for one year. He was a member of the engineering honorary societies Chi Epsilon and Tau Beta Pi. After retirement in 1987 he was active with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) writing problems for the Structural Engineering Registration Examination and grading the exam.

He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Civil Engineering Alumni Association of the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana), two awards of Merit from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the 2023 Alumni Medal. In 2013 he received the Palmer Award from the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois honoring his distinguished career as acknowledged by his peers.

His philanthropy includes scholarship and civil engineering laboratory funds at the Illinois Institute of Technology, a scholarship fund in the College of Nursing at Rush University, a scholarship fund at the American Society of Civil Engineers, and an endowment fund at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. At the University of Illinois Urban Champaign, in addition to the current fellowship fund, his will provides for a chair in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the field of structural engineering.

His wife, Erma Page Lewis, died in 1991.

Visitation Monday, November 4, from 3-7pm at Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd, Wilmette, IL 60091. Interment is private. For info: 847-256-5700