James ‘Jim’ Allen Lewis, 82

Published 11:20 am Monday, October 6, 2014

James “Jim” Allen Lewis, 82, of Hayfield, Minnesota, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 2, at Mayo Clinic St. Mary’s Campus in Rochester.

Lewis

Jim was born in Austin, Minnesota, on July 25, 1932, to George and Margaret (Kramer) Lewis. He grew up in Taopi, Minnesota, and attended the one room elementary school there. He went to high school in Adams and graduated in 1950. Upon his graduation he was employed by the Chicago Great Western Railroad and worked there until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1953. Jim served our country from 1953 to 1955. His basic training took him to San Francesco, California. Upon completion he was shipped overseas to Japan and then Korea. He was stationed with the 440th Signal Company and handled training of the new soldiers and all the communication duties for the 5th Air Force. Jim completed his tour of duty in Feb. 1955, at the rank of Sergeant. Returning to civilian life he picked up where he left off and was again employed by the Chicago Great Western Railroad. He was promoted to the lineman position in 1956, and covered the Hayfield area territory. His lineman duties were high risk and unfortunately he was injured on the job in 1971. Jim worked for IBM in Rochester after leaving the railroad and remained there until his retirement in 1993.

The outdoors was always his favorite place to be and he enjoyed trout fishing, pheasant, deer, duck and goose hunting, and camping with his family. His hobbies were building fishing poles and custom fly rods. He learned fly tying and perfected his talent by testing his own designs. His poles and flies became popular and the demand kept him busy building at home in his spare time. He also enjoyed woodworking and building things for his grandchildren, family and friends. Tinkering and fixing mechanical things was always an interest and a challenge for him. In his later years he attended many auto auctions as a driver for Anderson Auto Sales in Hayfield. Jim was a Brother of the Mason Lodge 75 in LeRoy, Minnesota, an usher and served on the church council at Trinity Lutheran in Hayfield,  a member of the Hayfield American Legion Post 330, and a former member of the Hayfield Lions. Jim was married to Donna (Johnson) Lewis on Sept. 27, 1958. They had just celebrated their 56th anniversary.

He is survived by his wife, Donna; two daughters: Jayne (Gregg) Childs of Rochester, Tamara (Marlin) Kath of Owatonna; three grandchildren: Leila Kath and Carrin Kath both of Owatonna, and Turner Childs of Rochester.

He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Margaret Lewis; and his aunt and uncle, Art and Leone Lagervall.

His funeral service will be Sunday, Oct. 12, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hayfield. Visitation is at 1 p.m. with the service beginning at 2 p.m. Blessed be his memory.