Alfred Risdon Lewis, devoted husband, father and grandfather, known by his many friends as a truly gentle man - considerate, diligent, gracious, and an appreciative soul - passed away peacefully on January 26 at Westchester Medical Center, surrounded by his loving family. He was 86 years old.
Born in New York City, the son of Catherine and Edward Buckley Lewis, he served as a youth in the Knickerbocker Greys, an after-school program that prepared boys for military school and other positions of leadership and personal responsibility. He was appointed a captain in the Greys.
Alfred was educated at Allan Stephenson School, graduated from St. George’s School in Newport,Rhode Island in 1950 and from Yale University, class of 1954. While at Yale, he joined the ROTC. Upon graduation he served on active duty with the U.S. Army for two years and in the standby reserve until he was honorably discharged as a 1st Lieutenant in 1962.
For 40 years Alfred was employed at Marsh & McLennan Companies in Manhattan, then the world’s largest insurance brokerage firm, where he retired as a Vice President.
He was married to Claire Campbell Davidson of Montreal, Canada in 1959. The couple lived in Tuxedo Park, New York where he was active on the vestry of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and in civic circles. He was treasurer of the Tuxedo Park School, served on the Board of the Tuxedo Club and was a volunteer for the Tuxedo Ambulance Service.
In 1984 he married Corinna (Nina) Sanford Ashley and the couple made their home in Warwick. He served for many years on the boards of the Winslow Therapeutic Riding Center and the Historical Society of the Town of Warwick.
For ten years, Alfred was a member of the Board of Trustees of Champlain College, Burlington, Vermont and upon his retirement was cited as a “shining star of its trustee team.” In his honor, the college officially named a star after him.
He was a member of the American Legion Post in Warwick for 35 years. For several years, by appointment of Congressman Benjamin Gilman, he served on the 22nd Congressional District Service Academy-Intern Review Board assisting in the selection of nominees for the U.S. military academies.
In addition to the Tuxedo Club, his memberships included the Springdale Hall Club, Camden, South Carolina; The Union Club, New York City, and he was a charter member of the Warwick Valley Country Club.
Among his recreational passions were golf, pheasant hunting, skiing, tennis, sailing and backgammon. He was an opera buff and sports car enthusiast. Summers he enjoyed puffing on his pipe while mowing woodland trails and driving farm fields on his lawn tractor.
Nicknamed Al and M.L., he is survived by his wife, Nina; daughter, Cynthia Renfrew Lewis of New York City; son, James Madison Horton Lewis and his wife, Lyssa of Steamboat Springs Colorado; two grandchildren, Sedona Lee Lewis and Lexington James Lewis of Steamboat; stepdaughter, Abigail Ashley of Warwick and her children, Samuel John Ashley Tyzbir and Madison Grace Ashley Tyzbir; niece Catherine Lewis Force and her family of Atlanta, Georgia; cousins Elizabeth Lewis McLean and Mary Hope Lewis, Warwick, and Joan Sanford Jewett, McLean, VA and their families; brother-in-law John W. Sanford III of Warwick and his family. He was predeceased by his brother Edward Lewis III and stepson Jason Cadwell Ashley.
The family wishes to extend special thanks to the Warwick Valley Ambulance Corps and to the medical and support staffs of St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick and of Westchester Medical Center.
A celebration of Al’s life will take place on Saturday, February 17 at 1 o’clock at Christ Church, 50 South Street, Warwick, where he was a parishioner.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations would be appreciated to the Warwick Valley Ambulance Corps, P.O. Box 315; the Warwick Humane Society, P.O. Box 61; the Warwick Historical Society P.O. Box 353, Christ Church, 50 South Street; or to the charity of one’s choice.