Van-Aire Skyport

Richard ("Dick") Dean Lewis passed away peacefully on December 31st, 2024. He was days away from his 95th birthday.

Richard was born on January 9th, 1930 in Timberlake, South Dakota to Ira and Laura Lewis. He was the middle of three brothers, Don, Dick and Gene. Hot Springs, South Dakota (in the Black Hills) was the town he called home and where he graduated from High School.

Baseball was a large part of Dick's young life. He was an excellent pitcher and was visited by a recruiter for the Saint Louis Cardinals. Due to a knee injury, he decided to take a teaching scholarship instead. He followed his coach to a college in Utah and played baseball there, getting a degree from Utah State. He majored in Biology and minored in Zoology.

Dick was in the Army for 4 years. He attended basic training (and played baseball) at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Dick was sent to Japan. He was stationed at Camp Zama outside of Yokohama. This was a world officers headquarters. His duties were to keep the sporting facilities in tip top shape and to play baseball.

After the army, he went to UNC in Greeley to get his master's degree. He took a job at Burlington High School (CO) as a science teacher and football coach. It was at Burlington where he met a young student teacher named Sharon Ritchey who was from Brighton, CO. Sharon broke off an engagement to someone else to marry Dick. Sharon mentioned at times that she didn't realize she would be a "baseball widow" as he was still playing and was frequently gone. They were married in Brighton, CO on June 23rd, 1957.

Dick and Sharon moved to Brighton, Colorado. They had 2 children, Son Bret and daughter Shanna. Dick took a job as a Science teacher at Brighton High School. He and his brother-in-laws took an interest in a breed of cattle coming in from France called Charolais. Dick was a very hard worker and farmed Sharon's mother's place and started acquiring cattle. He and Bret showed Charolais cattle and sometimes had Grand Champions.

Dick bought his own farm 10 miles east of Brighton in 1972 where he and Bret farmed 600 acres of alfalfa and had 40 head of Charolais cattle. Life consisted of farming in the summer and teaching the rest of the year.

Dick worked at Brighton High School for 32 years. He was loved by many for his wry sense of humor. He enjoyed teaching Biology, Anatomy and Genetics. There was a time where he couldn't go anywhere in Brighton without running into former students. Dick was a very social person and loved to hang out and laugh with friends. He hosted many get-togethers with his friends and relatives. These included annual golfing trips to Estes park and annual elk hunting trips outside of Aspen CO.

Dick loved to golf. He taught his grandsons how to golf and how to play baseball. He attended every grandchild's sporting event and often drove the kids to their practices and games. He golfed with friends, his brother Gene and his grandsons. His temper during golfing was legendary. A bad shot could easily end with a thrown golf club.

Dick and Sharon sold the farm in 1986 and purchased a home in the Van Aire flying community east of Brighton. This house has a swimming pool and all his grandkids (and great grandkids) learned to swim at "Grandpa's". He and Sharon loved to go on trips to the Black Hills and other places with old friends Frank and Bernice. They liked to vacation with Sharon's twin "K" and her husband Tim Caldwell as well.

Dick is survived by son Bret (Nancy) Lewis and Daughter Shanna Cook. Grandchildren Jill (Mike) Dennis, Heather Boyd, Jason (Rachel) Lewis, Shannon Lewis, Jordan Cook and Collin (Lilly) Cook. He has 10 great grandchildren