Larry A. Lewis

Larry A. Lewis, 60 of Jefferson Twp., January 20, 2012. Survived by wife Karen Kramer Lewis; daughter Sydney K. Lewis; son, Samuel M. Lewis; sisters, Janet Norris of St. Petersburg, Fl and Judy Border of Parkersburg, WV. In lieu of Flowers, donations can be made to Mid Ohio Food Bank, 3960 Brookham Dr., Grove City, OH. 43123 or NPR (WCBE).

Larry Lewis was born on August 30, 1951, the last of three children and the first son born to Dorothy Marshall and Mack Donald “Dearie” Lewis. And yes, they had a farm. Larry grew up on that hard-working and beautiful hilltop dairy farm in Richie County West Virginia where he took aim at crows in the field and pursued coons across hills and hollows, went to North Fork Baptist, and rode the bus to school in Cairo. Though no one noticed he was blind in one eye until 1st grade, Larry became a crack shot and a voracious reader. The family moved to Grandview when Larry was in 9th grade. His country dress and speech made it a tough transition, but with rock and roll, Camaros, and an ace mechanic for a Dad, he found like minded friends and graduated from GHHS in 1969. After a few years of adventure and work in Florida and Ohio he returned to attend Ohio State, graduating in 1977 with a major in English. On graduation night, while celebrating at a German Village tavern, Larry spied Karen sitting at a booth with friends. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and was astonished when she gave him her number. Their first date was a Frank Zappa concert. For more than three decades, they gave each other love, and, best of all, two new human beings. Larry worked in construction, spent time as an entrepreneur, and in business development for the city of Columbus before joining the General Services Administration where his hands-on experience and knowledge of things mechanical made him effective in planning and managing federal building operations. After some years he became an energy and utilities expert for the Region, saving taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. And that’s true, not spin. At home Larry was a chronic builder and improver. Rehabbing houses, building tree houses, laboring at Karen’s landscaping visions and maintaining the “back 4” kept him ever occupied. He had an intense interest in the news of the world, politics, and physics. For fun, there was nothing better than Buckeye basketball and big bonfires. But Larry’s greatest, greatest joy was clearly his role as husband and father. He taught them how to build a potato gun, shoot skeet, drive a tractor, run a backhoe, cook chili and repair a double-hung window. They tore things apart and sometimes put them back together. He shared his love of cool cars, his fascination with the universe, and his strong opinions on politics and justice. He was devoted and generous. Sydney became an aerospace engineer and Sam a business owner; Larry was fiercely proud of them and counted himself most blessed.