Morton Lewis

Lewis, Morton,died on December 6, 2014. He was born January 27, 1924 in Brooklyn, NY. He was preceded in death by his lovely and beloved wife Jean and by his beloved granddaughters Heather Lewis and Christa Altman. He was a retired postal manager and a World War II veteran serving as a tanker in France and Belgium. Discharged in March 1946, he furthered his education under the GI bill and because his feet were frozen during the Ardennes Campaign he decided on a school in a "warm" southern city, not realizing that the climate in Louisville and New York were pretty similar. He also didn't know that the dormitories at U of L were old dilapidated Navy V1 barracks with community showers and bathroom facilities offering the same lack of privacy he detested in the Army. Still, he liked the laid back pace of Louisville.One evening in late 1947, while waiting with three friends for a bus to return to campus and strictly on a whim, he asked fellow student Lennie who was a part time technician at St. Anthony Hospital (and a future seminarian) to get him a date with a nurse. His other two friends of course said "ditto". Mort forgot about it when Lennie announced that 3 St. Anthony classmates would take the challenge. That's how Mort met Jean, a smart, witty, feisty, pretty, curvy, sexy, black haired, dark eyed almost brand new RN. Her classmates weren't too shabby either. At evenings' end, Mort knew he had a problem. After a few tentative dates they became a weekly item. Mort had to fight off some other suitors out of town and local. Then a setback. In the summer of 1948, Jean and a fellow nurse went on a work safari to New York. Despite a lot of correspondence (long distance telephoning was too expensive), Mort was afraid she might meet somebody else and her letters sounded as if she liked New York. After 3 months she did return and the afternoon of her return Mort proposed and that was met with a thunderous silence. He now had a new suitor to contend with, but this time he had help. He was informed about 30 years later by Jean and her sister that his future mother-in-law was helping him.Mort was graduated in 1949 and could now afford marriage. Still without saying yes in late 1950, Jean answered that she was ready to wear "my" ring. He had carried that ring for 9 months and while her friends had seen it, Jean had not until it was on her finger. In May 1951, they were married at Christ the King Church. The newlyweds had little in common except love, trust, faithfulness, and humor. It was enough for a solid and happy marriage. Arguments? Plenty! Thoughts of murder? Why not? Separation? Never! While the marriage ended after nearly 58 years with Jean's death in 2009, the love endures forever. Mort (how the French made fun of that name) liked classical music, big band swing, old movies, live theatre, spectator sports, playing tennis, and especially opera. He liked ballroom dancing and was too self-conscious to be adept although while dancing with Jean, who was great, she almost made him look good. They both liked square dancing and never met a caller they couldn't handle except in Florida, and he cheated.Mort leaves behind to reflect on his happy life four children, Lynn Clark (Dan), Larry Lewis (Candy), Laura Amshoff (Louis), and Linda Lewis; five grandchildren, Kristena Thomas, Sandra Maciuba (Christopher), Meredith Amshoff, Geoff Lewis, and Elizabeth Clark; six great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Carol Carrico, and cousins, nieces and nephews, a few friends and a few health care professionals who kept him alive longer than he expected.In lieu of flowers (he was allergic) contributions in Mort's memory may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (West Virginia chapter), Hosparus of Louisville,