Dr. Earl McKinley Lewis

Dr. Earl McKinley Lewis, 92, loving husband, father and grandfather, passed away on October 13, 2012, in Houston, Texas. Dr. Lewis was born on December 2, 1919, in McComb, Mississippi to the late Peter Lewis and Estelle Rollins Lewis. He graduated from McComb's Lanier High School in 1937 and then attended Tougaloo College near Jackson, Mississippi, graduating with a Bachelors of Arts degree in 1942. He earned a Masters in American History from Loyola University in 1948 and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 1951. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Our Lady of the Lake University of San Antonio, Texas in 1978, and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Incarnate Word College in San Antonio in 1989. A dedicated scholar and educator, he began his professional career as a visiting instructor at Howard University in 1951. In 1953, he became head of the Department of Political Science at Prairie View A&M College in Prairie View, Texas where he met and eventually wed Hazelyn Scott. In 1968, he joined the faculty at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, as a professor of Political Science, to develop and direct one of the first Urban Studies graduate programs in the country. In 1973, that program became the Department of Urban Studies, which Dr. Lewis chaired until he retired in 1990. Upon retirement, Dr. Lewis continued teaching part-time at the University of Texas, San Antonio. During his tenure at Trinity, the Urban Studies Department became a nationally recognized program that for graduate students. Graduates from his program routinely became city planners and city managers in major metropolitan areas across the country, or attained other professional positions in state and federal governmental agencies and private economic development corporations. Dr. Lewis was Trinity University's first tenured African American professor, its first George W. Brackenridge Distinguished Professor of Urban Studies and was twice nominated by Trinity University for the National Professor of the Year award. Dr. Lewis' honors, civic, and volunteer activities included being a recipient of the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation "Piper Professor" award and honorarium (which his wife also received several years later), a member of the Charter Revision Committee of the City of San Antonio, Vice President of the United Way of Bexar County, a member of the Texas Constitutional Revision Commission, Chair of the San Antonio Community Development Committee, a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Gamma Phi, a Sigma Pi Phi Boulé member fraternity, among many others too numerous to list. Dr. Lewis was a member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas, a lifelong member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and also served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Dr. Lewis introduced his children to the joys and the responsibilities of horseback riding and horse ownership. He was a sportsman, having played football and basketball during his school years. As a teen, he developed a love of tennis and with his lifelong friend, Napoleon Lewis, hand built a tennis court on the "wrong side" of the railroad tracks in McComb. He continued to play tennis for many years and passed on the joy of the game to his sons. He was a "preppy" before being preppy was cool. Dr. Lewis appreciated nature and its beauty as evidenced by a love of gardening he shared with his wife, with whom he cultivated many different varieties of roses and flowers throughout his life. He traveled with his family to ensure that his children experienced America's diversity. He was passionate about global, national and local politics, the education of minority children, and social justice. Throughout his life, he remained committed to helping America realize its full potential by enabling all citizens to enjoy the unfettered right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Dr. Lewis is survived by his wife of 57 years, Hazelyn Scott Lewis, son Peter C. Lewis and daughter-in-law Willow J. Sanchez, son Ronald C. Lewis and daughter-in-law Marcia D. West, daughter Alicia L. Lewis, and granddaughter Lana E. H. Lewis; as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, including Amy Howard Richardson of Los Angeles, California Virtrell Lenoir, Carol Howard, Jeffery Howard, Rodney Howard and Kathy Howard, all of Chicago, Illinois, Keron Scott Forte of Montgomery Alabama, Renan Scott of Harvest, Alabama, Dr. Wayne Scott of St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Hubert Scott, III and Dr. Rashad Scott of Boston, Massachusetts, and Anwar Scott of Paris, Texas. The family expresses its deep appreciation for the physicians, staff and volunteers at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, the Baylor Geriatrics Clinic and Houston Hospice, as well as for the many other kind souls who helped Dr. Lewis travel comfortably and peacefully down the final road of life. The family is particularly indebted to Trinity University for its support. A viewing and funeral service will be held on October 27, 2012 at the Parker Chapel at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. The viewing will commence at 9 o'clock a.m., followed by a service at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.(donate.naacp.org/page/contribute/basicdonate), the United Negro College Fund (Give.UNCF.org), the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org or 1.800.272-3900) or Houston Hospice (HoustonHospice.org or 713.467.7423).