Jimmie Guy Lewis

On Saturday morning August 9th Jesus came and took Jimmie Guy Lewis, 85, to Heaven. Jimmie Guy (known as Daddy Guy to most, Bigeye to a few, and Guy-O to others) endured a hard-fought battle with Parkinson’s and dementia. Daddy Guy spent his last two months in the Memory Care unit at The Reserve on Lake Austin surrounded by an exceptional, loving staff.

Daddy Guy was born on October 6, 1939, in Dallas, Texas. He grew up in Dallas with two loving parents and was the oldest of four children. Daddy Guy was preceded in death by his parents Joby Guy Lewis and Rachel Harriet Bridges Lewis, and his sister Judy Gail Lewis. He is survived by his wife Jackie Lavonne Lewis; two brothers Gary Joe (Peggy) Lewis and Jon Robert (Myra) Lewis; children Todd Anthony (Lisa) Lewis and Pam Lewis (John) Courtney; 6 grandkids Austin (Erin) Lewis, Chase Lewis, Bailey Lewis, Brooke Lewis, Browning Courtney and Addison Courtney; nephews and nieces, Lisa (Craig) Ford; Gary Joe Jr. (Megan) Lewis; Mitch (Amy) Lewis and Joby (Lea) Lewis as well as 12 great nieces, nephews, and their wives and husbands.

Daddy Guy graduated from North Dallas High School. He joined the Navy in 1958 and spent his time at the US Naval Air Station in Dallas, Texas as an Aviation Electrician until 1963.

Daddy Guy married Jackie Lavonne Rushing, known as RoRo, on November 1, 1958, and they were married up until his death for 66 years. Lavonne was the love of Daddy Guy’s life, and she made him complete. They lived in the same house in Dallas for 50 years and attended First Baptist Church of Richardson for over 40 years until they moved to Austin in 2021. They were extremely active in the church attending weekly Adult Sunday School and teaching 3rd Grade Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. Daddy Guy often volunteered on home building mission efforts and building playground equipment for churches in the Texas Valley so kids would have a safe place to play.

Daddy Guy loved spending time with his family, bass fishing, and hunting for deer and ducks, and working on projects around the house. He flat out could fix anything he put his hands on whether mechanical, electrical or plumbing. He was the perfect deer lease maintenance man as it didn’t have to be pretty, just functional (and that carried over into his household projects as well). He was an avid softball player and loved playing in church volleyball leagues. Dad loved the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers, often taking the family on outings bringing subway sandwiches so we could splurge on cokes and cotton candy (there was never a dessert that had a chance around Daddy Guy). He made sure that Pam and Todd had everything they needed, and he was involved and present in every aspect of their lives. For 10 years, Daddy Guy took great pleasure in chauffeuring and cooking for mom’s girl trips to Santa Fe where he would drive them to shopping areas, collect their bags, and take them back home to cook an awesome meal.

He spent his professional career in the bolt, nut, and screw business selling military hardware to the Department of Defense supporting our war fighters on all fronts. Daddy Guy was the founder of Fabrication Specialty (known affectionately by the family as FAB) in 1967 and it is now a leader in the industry also being awarded The Small Business Contractor of the Year in 1998. His siblings Gary Joe, Jon Robert, and Judy Gail, all joined him in the business to work together. Today FAB has moved from Dallas to Granbury and has grown to supply most of the world’s aerospace, defense and transportation companies in addition to all US armed forces branches. The next generation of Lewis’s now carry on the legacy of what started more than 58 years ago. Finally, Fabrication Specialty has been and will continue to be the destination for all the Lewis Family Christmas gatherings.

The one word to describe Daddy Guy is “generous”. He gave his time and money generously to First Baptist Church of Richardson, Austin Street Homeless Shelter in Dallas, and any family or friend in a bind. One of Daddy Guy and RoRo’s most cherished projects at Austin Street Homeless Shelter was making sure every homeless person had comfortable, warm socks to wear - often taking a truck load down. He and RoRo also took all the food down once a month in Daddy Guy’s big red truck and fed the homeless. Daddy Guy never wanted recognition, or a microphone, or his name in lights – he just wanted to humbly give his time and resources.

Daddy Guy loved Jesus, his family and friends.

Memorial Service: August 21st, 2:00pm at Weed Corley Fish Funeral Home, 5416 Parkcrest Dr, Austin, TX 78731. For those who are unable to attend Daddy Guy's service, it will be livestreamed and recorded at https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/c25087528535028. The Memorial Service will be followed by a Celebration of Life at 3:15pm located at La Mancha Tex-Mex-Tavern, 2203 Hancock Drive, Austin, Texas 78756.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Austin Street Homeless Shelter in Dallas at austinstreet.org in memory of Jimmie Guy Lewis so we can continue to support the homeless.