Mr. John Allen Lewis, Sr., 84, of Stone Mountain, Ga., passed away Tuesday, August 17, 2010. The family will receive friends 5:00-8:00 PM Thursday with a 7:30 PM Rosary service at A.S. Turner and Sons, Decatur. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 AM, Friday, August 20, at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, downtown Decatur with Fr. John Kieran and Monsignor Paul Fogarty officiating. Interment will follow in Floral Hills Memory Gardens, Decatur. A native Atlantan, John was born on February 14, 1926, to the late Aimee Johness Lewis and Oliver Kenneth Lewis, Sr. The family moved to Jacksonville, FL, where he attended Robert E. Lee High School. In the fall of 1944, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, 76th Infantry Division. PFC Lewis saw campaign action in Germany where he was captured and served as a P.O.W. for 3 months. Upon return from overseas, he attended the University of Florida, where he met his angel Norma. He graduated with honors from the School of Architecture. John and Norma were married in 1952 and moved to Albany, GA, where they would spend the next twenty years devoted to raising their four children. When he and Norma returned to Atlanta in 1971, he joined the architectural firm of Toombs, Amisano and Wells, where he was Vice President and spent over twenty years practicing the profession he loved. John had a lifelong devotion to scouting, serving as Scoutmaster in Albany, on the Atl. Catholic Archdiocese Scouting Committee and as a member of the DeKalb Co. Executive Committee for Eagle Scout Board of Review. Scouter Lewis was awarded the Silver Beaver Award for distinguished service. Among his love of design, art, and music, was his love of gardening with Norma. Both Master Gardeners, they were members of several gardening associations, and volunteered countless hours in their neighborhood and community. A would-be Professor, “Papa” would offer opinion and instruction on a wide range of topics, from Arts and Science to Business, History and Politics. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was an avid reader of military and political history. Most importantly, he was devoted to his loving family and faith. John was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 54 years, Norma Edmundson Lewis and grandson, Charles “Chad” Wright, Jr. He is survived by his children, Lisa Lewis Wright (Chuck) of Covington, GA; John Allen Lewis, Jr. (Mary Lou) of Suwanee, GA; Laura Olivia Lewis of Suwanee, GA and Aimee Caroline Lewis of Jacksonville, FL; brother, Oliver Kenneth Lewis, Jr., of Lawrenceville, GA; and grandchildren Beth Wright, Amanda Wright Taylor, Leslie Lewis, and John Lewis. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to Homes for Heroes Foundation, (homesforheros.com).
