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William Sexauer Lewis, age 91, passed away on Friday, August 26, 2016 in Guthrie of complications related to old age.
He was born in Circleville, Ohio on March 14, 1925 to Henry Stanley Lewis and Dorothy Sexauer Lewis. Bill had an older brother, Stanley and a younger sister, Charleen Lewis Hunter. He moved to Guthrie where the family has roots back to the 1889 Land Run.
In High School, Bill was the Band Major, ROTC Company Commander, and an Eagle Scout. After graduating from Guthrie High School in 1943, he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy and graduated in 1948. After Annapolis, he entered flight training and flew F8F Bearcats in California before moving to the F9F-2 Panther, the navy's first operational jet fighter, which he flew from aircraft carriers on combat missions during the Korean War.
He served as a White House Aide for President Dwight D. Eisenhower. After intense study in the Russian language, he was assigned as a naval attache' at the United States Embassy in Moscow. In 1957, he and a fellow attache' were accused of taking surveillance photos and declared persona non grata. Back in Washington, Bill met Patricia Rogers, then Secretary for the head of the US Geological Survey, at an embassy party and they were married in 1958. They moved to California, where William flew as a test pilot in the F4 Phantom, involved in the Sageburner program, where the Navy set out to establish speed and altitude records. It was during this program that Bill joined the coveted "Mach 2 Club". A son, William Jeffrey Lewis joined the Lewis family in 1962, and Dwight David Lewis came along in 1964.
William commanded a destroyer based in Newport, Rhode Island, the USS Massey which was part of the Mediterranean Fleet, in the late 1960's. His command of surface warships expanded when he assumed the rank of wartime Commodore and took squadrons of ships to sea from Hawaii in support of the U.S. efforts in Vietnam, first as Commander Destroyer Squadron (COMDESRON) 252 and then as COMDESRON 33. In some engagements, dozens of warships were at his command. In 1973, he returned to his work in Naval Intelligence, serving as Deputy Director for Support of the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, with a staff of 900. He was widowed in 1978 at around the time of his Navy retirement and he and the boys moved to Guthrie where he finished raising his teenage sons. He lived happily in Guthrie, volunteering as a docent at the State Capitol Publishing Museum and giving walking tours around town.
William was proud of his service and one of his favorite possessions was a baseball cap that showed that he was a veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He wore it often and enjoyed the accolades from passers bye.
Bill never believed in the saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks." In his fifties, he learned how to be a single parent to two teenage sons. In his sixties he became a care giver and devoted supporter to his son Dwight, who had to learn to live with mental illness. In his eighties, he accepted a new son into the family, his son Bill partnered with Peter Kuykendall of California. William Sexauer Lewis was the picture of the strong Naval Captain in the American tradition; He made no excuses; was precise, diligent and certain in all he did. He served his country and his family well and without fail.
He is survived by his son, William Jeffrey Lewis and his husband Peter Kuykendall, of California.
He is preceded by his wife, Patricia Rogers Lewis (July 1978), his son, Dwight David Lewis (April 11, 2013), his bother Henry Stanley Lewis, Jr (1977) and his sister Charleen Lewis Hunter (2013).
A funeral service will be held at Smith Memorial Chapel on Friday, September 2, 2016 at 10:00 A.M. Services are under the direction of Smith-Gallo Funeral Home.
Interment will follow at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, at a later date.
Visitation will be held Thursday, September 1, 2016 from 12:00-8:00 P.M., at Smith Gallo Funeral Home.
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