Lewis Leo Bird Jr.

Lewis L. Bird, Jr. was born on December 12, 1934 in Watertown, MA. He was the son of Lewis and Mary Bird, and the father of Jennifer Chatfield and Lewis L. Bird III. His wife was Claudia, her daughter Nancy Dunbar was his stepdaughter and thirteen grandchildren . Lew was married earlier to Merry Mabbett, the mother of his children, to Janis Totman and to Bonnie Cartledge. He went through school in the Boston area, graduating from Tufts University with a BS in Chemistry-Biology in 1956 and a commission as Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force.

Lew had two careers: 21 years in the Air Force and 16+ years with the University of California, Irvine.

--After completing flight school as a navigator, he flew with a C- 130 Hercules troop carrier squadron in France, dropping paratroopers and delivering passengers and cargo throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

--Lew was then assigned to an early airborne warning and reconnaissance squadron on Cape Cod, MA, flying EC-121 Constellation radar picket ships off the eastern seaboard for four years.

--Two years on Air Attaché duty in central Africa followed. Resident in Chad and assigned to the US Embassy in Fort Lamy (now Ndjamena), he served an area

including the Cameroons, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville and Chad.

--On returning to the States, he attended Air Command and Staff College where he also received an MS degree in Public Administration from the George Washington University.

--Then came a combat tour in Vietnam, beginning with combat crew training in Louisiana, survival school outside Spokane Washington, and a jungle survival course in the Philippines. Lew flew 129 combat missions with a tactical electronic warfare squadron based at Nha Trang, recognized with his award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

--He returned to serve three years on the international studies faculty at the Air Command and Staff College.

--In 1972 Lew was selected as one of 20 national Fellows in Academic Administration by the American Council on Education. He served his fellowship year at the University of California, Irvine, followed with several months at Air Force ROTC headquarters in Alabama.

--Lew’s final USAF assignment was with the Office of the Secretary of Defense in The Pentagon. He served for four years on the task force developing proposals for reducing forces in Europe, and on the US delegation negotiating with the Soviet Union in Vienna, Austria.

In 1977 Lew concluded his Air Force years and returned to UC-Irvine for a second career in academic administration. As Assistant Vice Chancellor—Academic Affairs his primary task was to allocate funds to the colleges and schools on the campus.

In retirement he and his wife Claudia traveled widely, particularly to remote areas in Africa, Asia and South America.

A memorial service will be held at Westminster Memorial Park in Westminster, April 10th at 2:30 p.m., followed by a reception at Rancho Del Rey main club house, 16222 Monterey Ln, Huntington Beach. There will be a visitation at Westminster Memorial Park, on Tuesday, April 9th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Donations in his memory may be made to a military charity of your choice.