Thomas "Rich" Lewis

January 22, 1926 - June 4, 2015

Thomas "Rich" Lewis, 89, of St. Joseph passed away on Thursday, June 4, 2015, at his home. Services will be held at a later date and cremation has taken place. Arrangements are by the Florin Funeral Service. Memorials may be made to any Veterans group in his memory. Please leave messages, memories, or photos at www.florin.net. Tom was born on Jan 22, 1926 in Benton Harbor to L. Guy and Susan Lewis. He was the youngest of 8 children born to Guy and Susan. He was a veteran of the US Navy during WWII from 1944 to 1946 and one of his brothers died during the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. Tom married his wife, Mary Mead, in 1948 and she preceded him in death in 2005. Mary's parents owned Mead's Chicken Nook. Together they celebrated 57 years of marriage. He was a painter and worked for his brother, Leo Lewis for close to 40 years. Tom was also a gun-smith and he operated the Lewis Gun Shop. He was also a member of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association and participated in their events with his booth for the gun shop. He also enjoyed going to auctions where he would find antique gun parts and tools for antique guns. He also enjoyed woodworking and machine shop where he made miniature steam engines. He is survived by his children, Guy Lewis of Stevensville and Gina (Lynn) Schmaltz of Baroda; his 4 grandchildren and his 9 great grandchildren.