Paul L. Lewis

Paul Lewis passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 23, 2025, at the age of 78. Paul was a loving husband to his wife, Millie; a terrific Dad to his sons, Adam and Todd; a world-class Papa to his grandchildren, Jacob, Julian, Violet and Ezra; and a faithful friend to too many people to name.

Paul was born in Boston to his mother, Ettabelle, and father, Charles, who went by “Chick." Soon thereafter, Paul was joined by a little sister, Roberta. The four of them lived together happily in Brighton and Brookline.

Did you know that Paul was actually born as Paul Louis Lechtenberg? At some point, Paul’s dad, Chick, a colorful character, changed the family name from “Lechtenberg” to “Lewis.” There were all sorts of rumors why, including one especially intriguing rumor about Chick’s suspected “slight” connections to “light” organized crime. However, Paul’s sister Roberta claims the real reason for the name change was that Paul’s mother was afraid her kids would never be able to spell “Lechtenberg.” Whatever the reason, this alteration in nomenclature left Paul with the somewhat repetitive yet always entertaining name of “Paul Louis Lewis.”

For decades, Paul worked in the computer industry. Yet he never worked with new, cutting-edge technology. Paul stuck to the ancient stuff: massive, so-called “mainframe” computers that were built in the 1970s, ran on giant reel-to-reel cassette tapes, and filled entire rooms. Paul stayed with mainframes throughout his career, even as his colleagues migrated to microcomputers and flashier, newer technology. Paul was nothing if not "old school."

Before toiling away on ancient mainframes, Paul’s first job was as low-tech as it gets. Paul was a 16-year-old soda jerk at a pharmacy in Brookline. It was there that he terrorized a kind little boy named Jeffrey Narod, who would stop by innocently for a treat after school. Paul, the soda jerk, was an actual jerk to little Jeffrey, prompting Jeffrey’s big sister Millie to march right into the pharmacy and tell Paul to shape up. So began a 60+ year love affair, as well as countless times that Millie told Paul what to do, how to do it, and when.

Paul was a high-speed racer of Toyota Corollas, and a frequent user of colorful language at high volume when frustratingly attempting to fix things around the house. When Paul’s kids got out of line, he would inevitably threaten to “drain the pool” in the backyard as punishment. Because he was such a great dad, he never followed through.

Paul was cool in a 1970s Tom Selleck kind of way. He wore dark sunglasses even when it wasn’t sunny, and he rocked a thick mustache like nobody’s business. In the 1980s, Paul took to wearing an Indiana Jones-style fedora. Paul would howl out-of-tune late into the night while spinning Led Zeppelin records in the basement as he assembled 1000-piece puzzles. Paul's drink of choice was Grand Marnier, unless he was feeling especially cool that night, in which case he’d inevitably order a “Miami Vice.” He really liked Don Johnson.

In his post-Miami Vice years, Paul moved to Twin Brooks, which aspiringly refers to itself as an "Active Adult Community." Paul and his many athletic friends at Twin Brooks stay "active" by sitting on their rear-ends playing Canasta, viewing Paul's photographs of the community (he was the unofficial photographer of Twin Brooks), or kibitzing poolside. One summer, while sitting under an umbrella by the pool with a gaggle of Active Adult Women, one of the women wondered aloud, "I wonder if there are any oatmeal raisin cookies in the Clubhouse." Rather than offer to check for her, Paul simply responded, "I don't care." He was an expert at reading the room.

Paul was especially proud of his four grandchildren. He always loved seeing Julian and Violet perform in a play, or listening to Jacob and Ezra play music. Most of all, Paul enjoyed showing his grandchildren apps he had just installed on his iPhone. These were always apps that everyone already had, and that the kids had known about for years. But Paul thought these apps were “slick” and wanted to share them with his favorite young people, who always humored him.

Paul’s greatest love in life was his wife, Millie. He adored her. Among other reasons, we know this because Paul would speak about her all the time. For example, whenever Paul pulled up in his speeding Corolla behind a painfully slow driver on the highway, he would ask his passenger sons aloud, “Why do I always get behind your mother?” Clearly, Paul felt that Millie was in front of him wherever he went, leading the way forward, albeit very, very slowly. We also know that Paul loved Millie dearly because he would write the mushiest, most lovey-dovey inscriptions in her birthday and anniversary cards, which Todd and Adam couldn’t bear to look at head-on, but Millie absolutely loved.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a graveside service at Shepetovka Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, February 26, at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in Paul’s name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation at https://alzfdn.org/donate. A luncheon at the Twin Brooks clubhouse located at 11 Twin Brooks Drive in Easton, Massachusetts will be held immediately after the funeral service, followed by Shiva that evening at the clubhouse until 8:00 pm, and the following evening, Thursday, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, again at the clubhouse. Come as you are, and of course, feel free to wear your favorite Paul type hat, coolest sunglasses and sport a 1970s-style ‘stache in Paul’s honor.