William George Lewis

SIERRA VISTA -- My husband of 38 years, Bill Lewis, lost his short battle to a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in Tucson on March 18, 2021.  Bill was born to William Parker Lewis, III and Marie Pascarella-Lewis in Rockville Centre, New York on Oct 1, 1949.  He was the oldest of five boys and lived much of his youth on Long Island.

Bill began his healthcare career as a young adult at the Submarine Medical Center in Groton, Connecticut.  He graduated with honors from Basic Hospital Corps School and served four adventure-filled years in the Navy as an operating room technician on the USS Columbus.  It was during this time he became acquainted with a Navy CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) who inspired him to pursue an anesthesia career.  He packed his little blue 1968 Mustang and traveled to Colorado.  Bill graduated from Colorado State University with a BS and University of Northern Colorado with his BSN (bachelor of nursing) in 1979.  He was one of two males in his nursing class.  He was accepted into the nurse anesthesia program at St. Joseph Hospital in Lancaster Pennsylvania.  Bill loved living in Lancaster and graduated with his CRNA in 1981.

His first anesthesia position was at Phoenix Baptist Hospital.  Lucky for me, I was living in Phoenix too.  We were introduced by mutual friends at his softball game and the remaining 38 years of his life is our shared marriage history.  When my parents met him for the first time, they agreed with me -- he was a keeper.

After we married in Tucson, we moved to Weaverville in northern California.  Bill practiced anesthesia with a passion in northern California for several years.  We bought our first home in Redding and acquired our first beloved canine kid.  

Then (we both have different versions of how this happened) we moved father north because he was accepted into the PharmD Program (clinical pharmacy) at Idaho State University in Pocatello.  This time, there were several more males in his class but he was the oldest student.  To his advantage, he brought years of patient care, knowledge, curiosity, and perseverance to everything he did at ISU.  Bill loved to learn.

After completing his geriatric pharmacy residency and completing his boards, we moved with our two canine kids to Sierra Vista in 1994.  Raymond W. Bliss Army Health Center welcomed him to their staff. 

 Life was even better after our two-legged kids were born.  Bill left Bliss AHC for a few years to practice anesthesia in Douglas; then returned to his pharmacy position at Fort Huachuca until his death.  He cared deeply about his patients and coworkers.  Despite friends and family encouraging him to retire, Bill wanted to work a few more years because he enjoyed his career, and was always excited about the contributions he believed he could make to support patient health.

Wherever we lived, Bill never missed reading the local newspaper with his carefully planned breakfast that he cooked from scratch.  He enjoyed growing vegetables, Roy Rogers, Gunsmoke, and other western oldies along with the baseball world series.

His enthusiasm for education flowed into teaching Chemistry and Medicine for Boy Scouts.  His entire health career was filled with continuing education conferences, lectures, journals, webinars......always searching for the latest nugget of knowledge he could share with his patients and fellow health care professionals.  

Our children agree he was their favorite parent because he had a very hard time telling them "no!"  He supported their endeavors and interests in every way he could.  Bill was always extremely generous in supporting their schools.

Bill is survived by me (his wife), Gail Thompson-Lewis, our children Scott and Julia Lewis, his younger brothers Jeffrey and David Lewis, mother Marie Lewis, and his two favorite dachshunds, Daisy and Walker.  They cuddled with him for many hours during his illness.

We thank everyone for their donations to the National Brain Tumor Society, the American Brain Tumor Association, the beautiful cards, uplifting calls, delicious food, and heartfelt prayers.  All of those kind acts have helped us put one foot in front of the other as we try to move forward after losing the most generous, kind, and humble man. 

Military Honors for Bill will be held on Monday, January 17, 2022 at 10:30 AM at the Hatfield Funeral Home, 830 South Highway 92 Sierra Vista. A memorial service will follow at 10;45 AM. Visiting hours for Bill will precede his service on Monday from 9:30 to 10:30 AM at Hatfield Funeral Home.

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