Obituary of William Joseph Lewis

COLUMBIA—William Joseph Lewis, 90, died Friday, March 22, 2024. Born on August 4, 1933, in Charleston, SC, Bill was adopted as an infant by Gertrude Matilda Hudson and William A. Lewis. He graduated from Bishop England High School in 1951. After serving his country in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955, he engaged in a civil service career of 38 years and 10 months, working first for the US Department of Defense, Charleston Naval Shipyard and then for the Federal Aviation Administration until he retired in 1990. At one point, he also served in the Air National Guard Reserves.

On April 8, 1956, he married Sandra Saulisbury Lewis in St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church on Wentworth St. in Charleston. Married for 64 years, Sandra and Bill resided in Sylvan Shores, west of the Ashley River in Charleston, until they moved to Columbia in 2003. In 2008, they moved to the Heritage at Lowman community in White Rock, SC.

A man of unwavering faith, Bill was a member of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church on Wentworth Street in downtown Charleston, where he served multiple times as president of the congregation council and as chair of countless committees, headed up numerous stewardship campaigns and pastoral call committees, regularly ushered and served as communion assistant, and frequently represented his congregation at synod conventions. Whenever the doors to the church were open, Sandra and Bill were there. For the South Carolina Synod of the ELCA, he was a member of the stewardship committee and served as president of the SC Lutheran Men in Mission in 1994.

Bill had a servant’s heart and took great joy in quietly helping others, volunteering his time and talents outside of the church as well. An active member of the West Ashley club of Optimist International in Charleston, he served as club president and as state lieutenant governor. At the Heritage at Lowman, he was a faithful volunteer, helping with the chapel sound system, greeting guests at the front desk, and shelving library books.

Bill was predeceased by his parents and his wife, Sandra. He is survived by his two daughters and sons-in-law, Nancy and Thomas Tuten of Columbia and Judy and David Drysdale of Hickory, NC; his two granddaughters, Elizabeth Grace and Emily Claire Tuten; and his grandson, Joshua Lewis Copeland, and his wife, Emily Copeland.

Family and friends will gather on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 3:15 p.m. for a visitation in the Hoefler Gallery at the Heritage at Lowman in White Rock followed by a service celebrating Bill’s life and faith at 4 p.m. in the adjoining New Life Chapel, 2101 Dutch Fork Road, Chapin, SC 29036. Bill’s ashes will rest next to Sandra’s at Live Oak Memorial Gardens in Charleston, SC.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1301 Richland St, Columbia, SC 29201; to the Lutheran Homes of SC Foundation, 300 Ministry Dr., Irmo, SC 29063; or to a charity of one’s choice.

The South Carolina Cremation Society is assisting the family. Family and friends may sign the online guest book by clicking on the “Tribute Wall” tab above.