John Stephen Lewis

Born in in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Stephen grew up In Oklahoma City, where he graduated as valedictorian at Putnam City High School. He was a National Merit Scholar at Dartmouth College, graduating with a BA in History in 1975, and attended the University of Houston Law School. After a bout with cancer in 1991, he completed a year of nursing school.

In his youth, Stephen enjoyed Scouting and completed Outward Bound. He loved reading and collecting books, learning foreign languages, puzzles, bad puns and silly jokes, his cats, his red pickup truck, gardening, road trips and camping. He was fierce competition in any game of Scrabble or Chinese checkers. Stephen retained his sweet disposition throughout his life and cared for his mother and father and numerous cats. He was known in the family for the rather eccentric gifts he gave, many of which turned out to be surprisingly useful.

Stephen volunteered for the Food Pantry at St. Paul's United Methodist Church. After Hurricane Ike, he won praise from the staff for his idea of taping plastic spoons to cans of food.

Stephen is survived by his sister Catherine Lewis of Bellaire, TX, his brother James Boyd Lewis and sister-in-law Nancy Lewis of Alameda, CA, and his niece Margaret Lewis of Dubuque, IA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Paul's United Methodist Church for the Emergency Aid Coalition.