Oscar Levi Lewis

Oscar Levi Lewis, Jr., 89, died June 17, 2019, at CarePartners Hospice. He was the sixth of eight children of Olive Sprinkle and Oscar Levi Lewis, Sr.
Born December 7, 1929, he spent his childhood in the Bull Mountain section of East Asheville. He attended Haw Creek School, Mars Hill College and received his B.S. from Tusculum College and his Masters from Texas A & M. He served in the United States Navy for seven years and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal.

A third generation educator, he taught high school in Baltimore, Maryland. His ties to his family and to Western North Carolina remained strong though, and every summer the family was entertained by both the wonderful seafood he would bring down with him and his stories of what it was like to teach in Baltimore. When he retired, he returned to Asheville, remodeled the house he left as a young man, and moved in to stay for the rest of his life.

There is much that will be remembered about him, especially his sense of humor and the chuckle that came up in most of his conversations. He loved to spend time with family. A special memory is of him dancing, however slowly, at the most recent wedding.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, George, Fred, Calvin and Gerald Lewis; and by his sisters, Phyllis Bishop and Patricia Brinkley. He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Nestoria (Nene) Cordero; his daughter Susan, his son Rick and his wife Virginia (Essie) LaFosse, and his son Erwin Brian and his wife Tara; and his sister Mabel Mungo is now the last of his generation. His immediate family is joined in their grief by an extended family of nieces, nephews, grandnieces and nephews and cousins across the South. Friends share in their grief.

A funeral service will be held 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 26, 2019 in the chapel of Groce Funeral Home on Tunnel Rd., with Rev. Terry Duckworth officiating. Burial will follow at Ashelawn Gardens of Memory.

The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.