Willard L. Lewis

August 16, 1935 - September 1, 2020

Willard L. Lewis, 85, of Mint Hill, NC, died unexpectedly at his home on September 1, 2020. Will was born in Justus, Pennsylvania, on August 16, 1935, the son of Edwell and Helen Eley Lewis. He grew up there and went on to honor his country’s call to service by enlisting in the United States Army. He spent three years in Japan before being honorably discharged. Will returned to Pennsylvania and blessed with a mind for understanding engineering, he obtained a degree in Electrical Engineering from Temple. Using his degree, he went to work for General Electric in Syracuse, New York, before moving on to IBM. IBM eventually brought him to Charlotte and, after 29 years of service to IBM, he retired as a Quality Engineer in 1990. When he was not working, Will enjoyed sports and playing cards, especially bridge. At the age of 53, he was still pitching for softball, and if you ever went to Charles T Myers Golf Course in Charlotte, you would often find Will participating in his other pastime, golfing. In fact, Will would work for the course as a ranger in exchange for being able to golf there as well. When not outside, Will was very active in the Levine Senior Center in Matthews and also enjoyed bowling. While he was living in Pennsylvania, he met the love of his life, Ms. Gail Evans. They were married on November 27, 1958. Together, they built what was ultimately the most important to Will, his family. From family gatherings to coaching Little League, Will loved the time spent with his family and will always be remembered as a wonderful guy. Will is survived by his wife of 61 years, Gail; four children: Gary (wife Sharon) Lewis of Indian Trail, NC, Brad (wife Adrienne) Lewis of Burlington, NC, Sherry (husband Lawrence) Johnson of Concord, NC, and Jeffrey (wife Amy) Lewis of Matthews, NC; and 8 grandchildren: Eric, Brian, Gregory, Kevin, Brandon, Brooke, Mackenzie and Avery; as well as 2 great grandchildren, Emma and Abbigail. Will is further survived by numerous other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Robert; and a grandson, Justin. Will’s family has given the family of Lowe-Neddo Funeral Home the privilege of caring for him and for them. A gathering of friends and family will take place at 10 am on Saturday, September 5, at the funeral home, 4715 Margaret Wallace Road, Matthews, NC 28105. At 11 am, a service honoring the life, love and blessing of this wonderful man will be held in the funeral home chapel. In honor of the care and love Will showed for others, the family respectfully requests donations in his name be made to the American Kidney Fund, online at https://www.kidneyfund.org/ For those unable to attend in person, you may observe via ZOOM. Please click the following link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89314242567