Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
NameWalter Hills LEWIS 
Birth14 Jun 1927, Seattle, King, Washington23, p G29; date only,1139
Removal1950, Yakima, Yakima, Washington1140 Age: 22
EducationUniv. of Washington; MBA, Stanford University, 19501140
OccupationTwin Y Corp., Yakima1142
FatherLester Warren LEWIS II (1892-1959)
MotherAlice Miriam HARRIER (1893-1946)
Individual Notes
• Walter Hills Lewis (paid Obituary - excerpts)
Although he had many health problems, he handled each with grace and dignity and looked forward to each new day. Walter loved the Yakima community and was dedicated and committed to the arts and education. He helped establish the Allied Arts Council and served on the board of directors for many years. He also served on the Washington State Board of Education for eighteen years. Walter was an educator at heart and approached the world with great curiosity which he shared with family, friends and the larger community.
Walter was born in Seattle, WA on June 14, 1927 to Lester and Miriam (Harrier) Lewis. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and his MBA from Stanford University in 1950. While at Stanford, Walter met his future bride, Margaret “Peggy” Moore. The couple married on August 29, 1949 in Manila, Philippines. They made Yakima their home in 1950 and Walter joined his brothers, Lester and Victor in creating Yakima Pine Products, a company which manufactured door parts. The business later merged with Young Door Company of Indiana and became Twin Y Corp. In 1990, the firm was purchased by Jeld-Wen Inc., and Walter retired.
In 1960, Walter was one of several people from Yakima to travel to the Soviet Union with the People to People Tour through the YMCA. He assisted the City of Yakima in negotiating the purchase of the Capital Theatre. After the theatre burned in 1975, Walter was instrumental in having the theatre rebuilt. He also helped with numerous community projects, including formation of the White Pass Ski Club in the early 1950s, formation of the Southeast Community Center and fund rasing for the Yakima County Juvenile Justice Center. He was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Church.
Walter is survived by his wife of fifty years, Peggy of Yakima; three daughters, Carol Lewis and husband Tom Byers of Seattle, Christine Lewis of Seattle and Jennifer Lewis Gardner and her husband john of Woodinville, WA; two brothers, Victor Lewis of Yakima and Boardman Brown of Pasadena, CA; sister, Mary Jane Anderson of Seattle; four grandsons; one granddaughter; and two stepgranddaughters. He was preceded in death by his brother, Lester Warren Lewis, Jr.1140
• [excerpts] Yakima business and community leader Walter Lewis, who, with his wife, Peggy, helped establish the Capitol Theatre and Allied Arts, died early Friday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. He was 73.
His daughter, Christine, of Seattle said the cause of death was heart failure but that her father had suffered various health problems for years, including diabetes.
“He was a happy man with a big, big smile who loved life,” she said. “He was never bitter about his illnesses. He wanted to live every single day.”
Peggy Lewis said her husband was “a gregarious man with a big, warm smile” who helped the city negotiate the purchase of the Capitol Theatre before it burned in 1975. After the fire, he was instrumental in having the theatre rebuilt.
Christine Lewis said her father grew up in Seattle but considered Yakima his home. “From his house, he could look out over Ahtanum Ridge -- ‘I love those hills, there is nothing more beautiful,’ he would say.”1143
Although he had many health problems, he handled each with grace and dignity and looked forward to each new day. Walter loved the Yakima community and was dedicated and committed to the arts and education. He helped establish the Allied Arts Council and served on the board of directors for many years. He also served on the Washington State Board of Education for eighteen years. Walter was an educator at heart and approached the world with great curiosity which he shared with family, friends and the larger community.
Walter was born in Seattle, WA on June 14, 1927 to Lester and Miriam (Harrier) Lewis. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and his MBA from Stanford University in 1950. While at Stanford, Walter met his future bride, Margaret “Peggy” Moore. The couple married on August 29, 1949 in Manila, Philippines. They made Yakima their home in 1950 and Walter joined his brothers, Lester and Victor in creating Yakima Pine Products, a company which manufactured door parts. The business later merged with Young Door Company of Indiana and became Twin Y Corp. In 1990, the firm was purchased by Jeld-Wen Inc., and Walter retired.
In 1960, Walter was one of several people from Yakima to travel to the Soviet Union with the People to People Tour through the YMCA. He assisted the City of Yakima in negotiating the purchase of the Capital Theatre. After the theatre burned in 1975, Walter was instrumental in having the theatre rebuilt. He also helped with numerous community projects, including formation of the White Pass Ski Club in the early 1950s, formation of the Southeast Community Center and fund rasing for the Yakima County Juvenile Justice Center. He was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Church.
Walter is survived by his wife of fifty years, Peggy of Yakima; three daughters, Carol Lewis and husband Tom Byers of Seattle, Christine Lewis of Seattle and Jennifer Lewis Gardner and her husband john of Woodinville, WA; two brothers, Victor Lewis of Yakima and Boardman Brown of Pasadena, CA; sister, Mary Jane Anderson of Seattle; four grandsons; one granddaughter; and two stepgranddaughters. He was preceded in death by his brother, Lester Warren Lewis, Jr.1140
• [excerpts] Yakima business and community leader Walter Lewis, who, with his wife, Peggy, helped establish the Capitol Theatre and Allied Arts, died early Friday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital. He was 73.
His daughter, Christine, of Seattle said the cause of death was heart failure but that her father had suffered various health problems for years, including diabetes.
“He was a happy man with a big, big smile who loved life,” she said. “He was never bitter about his illnesses. He wanted to live every single day.”
Peggy Lewis said her husband was “a gregarious man with a big, warm smile” who helped the city negotiate the purchase of the Capitol Theatre before it burned in 1975. After the fire, he was instrumental in having the theatre rebuilt.
Christine Lewis said her father grew up in Seattle but considered Yakima his home. “From his house, he could look out over Ahtanum Ridge -- ‘I love those hills, there is nothing more beautiful,’ he would say.”1143
Census
• 1930 Census: Seattle, King, Washington. Age 2 10/12ths, b WA. Father b IA; mother b CA971
Spouses
Children(Private)
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