Ron Lewis, age 72, died March 7, 2023, at UVM Medical Center, with his wife and daughter lovingly supporting him as he peacefully moved on to another dimension. Ron was a native Californian, the only child of Earl and Lyn Lewis. He grew up in Walnut Creek, where he graduated from Ygnacio Valley High School and later attended several California State Universities, graduating from CSU-East Bay with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting and a minor in English from CSU-San Francisco.
He met his wife Sally Short in San Francisco in October 1972, and they were married on June 8, 1974. Ron and Sally moved from California to Brandon, Vermont in 1979 to a new life in their adopted state. In 1982, they welcomed a daughter, Elizabeth, to their love and lives and both agreed it was their best work together ever.
Ron’s career as a senior accountant and business manager spanned many years and a number of businesses, including Vermont Law School, Dubois and King, A Johnson Lumber, Mid Vermont Trucking, VELCO, Frog Hollow Craft Center, Boys and Girls Club, Garden Center Inc, and more.
Beyond his working life, Ron embraced many interests. These pursuits included founding and participating in the Green Mountain Table Tennis Club and the New England Panther Research Alliance. He was an avid Bigfoot researcher and first-hand believer. He coached his daughter’s AAU basketball team (Mountain Valley AAU, go Cheetahs). Ron collected and locally displayed thousands of antique valentines. He was a Master Gardener who took great pride in sharing plants from his home gardens. His lifelong fascination with the skies and beyond led to his association with the Green Mountain Alliance of Amateur Astronomers, Stellafane, Vermont Astronomical Society, and becoming an owner of many telescopes including his pride and joy, the Obsession.
His biggest passion, however, was his love of poetry: reading, collecting, and most of all writing. He participated in the Otter Creek Poetry Workshop, the Poetry Society of Vermont, and was on a small panel responsible for selecting several of Vermont’s poet laureates. He was very proud of his large library of poetry books and read from them daily.
Rounding out his interests were gold panning, watercolor painting, needle felting, jewelry making, and especially spending time with his grandsons.
He is survived by his wife, Sally Short, his daughter, Elizabeth Lewis, his son-in-law, Christopher Pepe, and his two adored grandsons, Forest and Samuel Pepe. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nephews, nieces, grand-niece and grand-nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and grand-nephew. He was a loving husband, devoted father, doting grandfather “Bev” and caring friend to many. He had many health issues that wore away at him over the years, but he held onto an attitude that life was worth living regardless, and there was always another adventure or learning experience to follow.
He will be forever missed by his family, friends, and the many people whose lives he touched. He will always be remembered as a man with a huge sense of humor, an insatiable need for knowledge, a collector and keeper of so much, and playmate and mischief-maker that made him the favorite with all kids, especially Forest and Sam. Remember him in your daily comings and goings as the Renaissance man.
A celebration of life will be held at a date to be determined in the future. Arrangements are by Miller & Ketcham Funeral Home in Brandon.
