Anthony "Tony" Lewis
August 12, 1960 ~ August 13, 2016
Resided in:
Leicester, NC
Asheville Butterfly Trail
Anthony Willie "Tony" Lewis, 56, of Leicester, died Saturday, August 13, 2016.
A native of Buncombe Co., he was a son of Willie Lewis and of the late Polly Briggs Lewis. He was also preceded in death by his son, Joshua W. Cook.
Tony was an honors graduate in welding from AB-Tech. He worked for the PSNC Energy Co. for twenty-two years, and previously worked at Asheville Industries. He worked the farm, raising beef cattle and in the last several years he had chickens that he loved to tend.
Tony was a loving husband, brother, son, and the best father to his children and Papaw to his grandchildren. He loved working the farm, which he had done since he was thirteen years old. He loved being on his tractor with bluegrass playing on the stereo mowing his hay; some of which he sold to farmers in the area. He was always ready to lend a hand to others.
He was slow to make close friends, but once he let you in you were his friend.
In addition to his father, Tony is survived by his wife of twenty-one years, Penny Lewis; children, Bryan Kenneth Cook (Emily), and Corey Cook Shelton (David); grandchildren, Camdin, Callie, and Coleson Shelton, and Olivia and Harmony Cook; sister, Stephanie Lewis; nephew, Hunter Lewis Bullard; special aunt, Altha Hoyle; and cousin, Shon Hoyle. Tony had been looking forward to the next segment of his life with Penny, his children, and grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday in the Patton Ave. chapel of Groce Funeral Home, with the Rev. Dr. Keith Hutchinson officiating. The family will receive friends following the service.
The family wishes to express special thanks to the family members of Penny and Tony, the Leicester Rescue Squad and EMS, the Stricklands, the Huff and Stevens family, Rick Rhinehart and family, Debbie and Ronnie Patton, and Deputy Hunnicutt.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Future Farmers of America, c/o Erwin High School, 60 Lees Creek Rd., Asheville, NC 28806.
We are so sorry to hear of Tony’s passing. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Pennie, Stephanie and Family,
Our hearts breaks for all of you. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Tony was a wonderful man and was loved by so many people. May God surround all of you with comfort knowing he had a wonderful reunion with Polly. God bless you all….
Love, Chip and Kim
Penny I am so sorry to hear of your loss , may Jesus wrap his arms around your beautiful family and hold you tight as you walk through this journey of sadness. he is at peace with Jesus. Someday soon will see your loved ones again. God bless you dear penny. I will be praying for you and your family
Much, much love an prayers Penny. There are no words.
oh Penny, I am so sorry! I continue to pray for you, now more than ever. My heart aches, my tears flow, and my prayers fly to the the Throne of God on your behalf…
Penny, My heart breaks for you. I know this is a tremendous loss. May God surround you with his love, grace and strength for each moment, hours and days ahead as only He can do. I am praying for you and the family.
Tony was my friend. Tony was a strong, caring and hard working mentor to me. He taught me how to care for and raise cattle and about hay production. He was not only an inspiration to me but impacted the development of my two oldest son’s who often would come with me to strap down hay or work cattle. I will never forget having a conversation with Tony at the barn in the winter and seeing full icicle’s in his moustache and beard, he was tough. He was a man of few words, and when he spoke he didn’t have to speak loud for people to listen. I am truly broke to hear of this great loss and I know that words cannot ease the pain of separation on this side of heaven. I will continue to pray for the ‘peace that passes all understanding’ for Penny and the Lewis Family.
So sorry for your loss Penny. Heaven gained another angel to rejoice in Him. May God surround you with strength and comfort during this time. My thoughts and prayers are with the and family. I love you and think of you often.
Sorry to hear of your loss. I didn’t know him, but from the obituaries, he seemed to be a great guy. Ho!d on to all memories and remember one day you can make new ones. Sending special prayers.
Penny I am so sorry for you and your family. I will be sending prayers to you and your family. Love you
Penny and Family, please accept my sincere condolences in the passing of Tony. May God be with you in this difficult time.
May God wrap his loving arms around you and relieve you of your loss. Thinking of you daily. So sorry. God is always in control, even when we dont understand. Stand strong in your faith.
PENNY AND FAMILY, MY HEART IS BROKEN FOR YOU . TONY WAS ALWAYS SUCH A NICE PERSON TO TALK TO AND BE AROUND. I KNOW YOUR LOSS IS GREAT AND I PRAY GOD WILL GIVE YOU PEACE AND COMFORT DURING THIS TIME IN YOUR LIFE. LOVE YOU AND PRAYING FOR YOU. GOD BLESS.
My heart ached when I heard the news. The world has lost someone very special, a one of a kind man. A quiet, soft spoken man with a huge heart. Penny & family you have a lot of rich memories to keep in your heart to last a lifetime.
Love and Sympathy
There are no words. I am so very sorry. I pray for strength of grace and Gods arms will wrap around you tight. I can’t imagine what uou are going thru but know you and your family are loved. If we can do anything please let us.
So sorry, Penny, to learn of your loss. Tony was always such a sweetheart. I know he will be greatly missed. Keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.
Penny and Family it’s absolutely heart breaking to hear of losing Tony. I had the privilege of working with Tony on a PSNC project in 2001 to 2003. It took a while for Tony to warm up to me with his quite ways but when I saw that grin one day I knew we had come a long way. A quite man of few words but when he spoke you listened.
It’s not what we take with us when we go but it’s what we leave behind that matters and he really touched a lot of people that will never forget him.
May you find some comfort in knowing that others are thinking about and praying for your family in this time of loss.
I agree with the obituary that Tony was slow to make close friends but once he did you knew he was your friend (good country folks) and he was always helpful to me and his coworkers.
To all the family of Tony, so sorry to hear of his passing. He was a great friend when we went to school on the Island at Marshall. Rest in Peace my friend until me meet again..
Penny, I am so sorry for your loss. May the Lord wrap you in his arms and comfort you during this time. Cathy Robinson
We are praying for you and all of your family. We’re praying for God to give you that ‘special grace’ that you’ve not needed before.
Penny and family. I am so sorry for the loss of Tony for you and for all of us. Tony is in some of my best memories from high school. We d all pile in that 442 for a road trip and good music. He was the voice of reason at some really bad times of my life. I used to say that with Tony still waters run deep. He was quiet but dependable. And that smile!!!
So hang in there and know that you ll be greeted by that smile in the future…love and prayers Penny and I m here if you need me.
I am so sorry, God Bless you guys, Tony was such a great man. It breaks my heart 🙁
Penny. Charles and I express our words of sympathy knowing that you must be experiencing a huge space left in your life. May God provide you with a strength only He can give throughout the next several days and months
We are so sorry to hear of Tony’ s passing. Praying for peace during this difficult time. God is always in control, even in our valley’s.
Penny I’m so sorry to hear about Tony! My heart breaks for you & your family! Tony was a great man! Always spoke when he seen me with a smile on his face! Hard worker & kind hearted! I’ll be praying for yall during this hard time for courage, understanding, & strength to get through this horrible storm! Love & prayers!
I am so sorry for your loss. Many thoughts and prayers go out to the family. May he reside in paradise.
I am so sorry for your loss. Tony was truly a wonderful friend to my father-Skip Plemmons. Heaven has gained a wonderful man and he will be greatly missed here on earth!!
Penny and family. My heart breaks for you through the loss of such a wonderful man. I pray that God will bring love and comfort to you in the days to come. Words can not replace this loss, prayers hopefully will help bring you and your family comfort. May God send you much love and blessing in the days ahead. I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayer are with you each and everyone .
Penny, Bryan, Emily, Corey and Families – We are all praying for you during this awful time! Hugs and prayers!
Penny, My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I’m so very sorry for your loss.
Penny, Bryan, Corey and Stephanie, There are no words that we could say that would be a comfort to each of you. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers today and forever. Tony was a great guy!!! Please know we are here for you if you need anything. We are so sorry we could not be there to comfort you today.
Penny, l am so very sorry for Tony’s passing. My heart aches for you. I know that nothing anyone can say will take away your pain, but remember you are in our thoughts and prayers and you are loved. My God give you the strength to get through this.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the family. Always enjoyed seeing Tony on the jobsite. So sorry for your loss. May God Bless.
To Penny and Family, I’m so sorry to hear about your lost of Tony. God is good and he knows our destine from before birth, I will be praying for you and your family, asking God to shower his Blessing Down upon you.
Penny an family there are no words that I could say that would be enough to comfort you my love an prayers are with you all..
Sending our prayers and sincere sympathy. We heard of our loss at the Briggs Reunion on Sunday.
Penny and family I am so very sorry for the the passing of Tony. You are a good friend that I have never forgotten. My prayers are with you for the needs you have now. Noone can tell you they know how you feel, only God can do that. So just rest in His Hands that are filled with everything you may need and all the love you can handle. I hope you find comfort in all that is said to you.
God knows I do care so very much.
Coach Glenda Campbell
Penny, I am praying God’s comfort over you, around you, and in you…….always remember God is present in absence.
Penny and family
it is hard to find words that can bring the comfort your heart needs. But rest assured God has you in his arms. The prayers of many people for you and the children and grandchildren are being covered by His love. REX and myself have been and will Continue to lift you to the ONE who can help heal your broken heart.This is the time the Lord needs you to lean fully on HIM. May God bless and keep you and yours as you go through tomorrow .take comfort in the friends and family that gather to celebrate Tonys life .
We are so sorry for your loss Penny and family. May our Lord be with you all. Love Renee and Larry Reeves
Penny, words can’t express how sorry I am to hear of your loss. I am holding you and your family up in prayer and asking God to give u strength for today and for the days to come.
I am sorry about Tony. He was a good person. Thoughts and prayers for Penny and all.
I had a close relationship with Tony at Erwin spent time with Tony and his family on weekends at the lake. Tony was amazing as a young man and even more as the man he became. My thoughts are with his family. A special man. RIP to someone who was a friend. Over time our careers took us in different directions. Tony was one of the men I have unforgettable memories of. Be at ease God will cherish him.
So sorry to hear about Tony’s passing. I just found out today. Praying for you and your family….