Judge Charles J. Lewis
CHARLES J. LEWIS, A RESIDENT OF RINGGOLD COUNTY FOR 69 YEARS, DEPARTED THIS LIFE JANUARY 2, AT THE AGE OF 95 YEARS, IN THE CLEARVIEW HOME IN MOUNT AYR, AFTER SUFFERING A STROKE ON THE PRECEDING SATURDAY. HE HAD BEEN A RESIDENT OF THE HOME SINCE MARCH OF 1963.
A SON OF CLINTON J. AND ADDIE LEWIS, HE WAS BORN JANUARY 13, 1877 ON A FARM, ONE AND A HALF MILES NORTH OF LENOX IN TAYLOR COUNTY, IOWA.
IN 1888, THE LEWIS FAMILY MOVED TO REDDING IN RINGGOLD COUNTY.
FOLLOWING HIS GRADUATION FROM THE DRAKE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL IN 1905, HE ENTERED THE PRACTICE OF LAW IN MOUNT AYR. HE JOINED MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY WHO HAD MOVED IN 1904, TO MOUNT AYR, WHERE HIS FATHER WAS ENGAGED IN THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS. IN 1912, HIS BROTHER, FRANK, JOINED HIM IN ESTABLISHING THE LAW FIRM OF LEWIS AND LEWIS.
FOLLOWING FORTY YEARS DEVOTED TO THE PRACTICE OF LAW, MR. LEWIS WAS ELECTED IN 1945, AS A DISTRICT COURT JUDGE OF IOWA’S THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT. HE SERVED CAPABLY AND CONSCIENTIOUSLY IN THAT CAPACITY FOR TWENTY YEARS PRIOR TO HIS RETIREMENT ON JULY 1, 1965.
A COMMUNITY-MINDED CITIZEN, MR. LEWIS WAS LOVED AND RESPECTED BY THE YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE. IN 1962, HE DONATED $10,000 TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF A SITE FOR A SWIMMING POOL AND PARK WHICH BEARS HIS NAME. SEVEN YEARS LATER, HE CONTRIBUTED A LIKE AMOUNT TOWARD THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, WHICH WAS NAMED IN HIS HONOR.
MR. LEWIS NEVER MARRIED AND AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH, THERE WERE NO IMMEDIATE SURVIVORS, EXCEPT A NIECE, MRS. CHARLES FREDERICK, OF WASHINGTON, D.C., AND A LEGION OF FRIENDS.
HE WAS PRECEDED IN DEATH BY HIS PARENTS; HIS BROTHER, FRANK; A SISTER, MRS. FLORENCE FREDERICK; ONE NEPHEW, JUDGE CHARLES FREDERICK, AND A NIECE, LUCY FREDERICK LONG.
FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD JANUARY 4, FROM THE RHOADES-WILSON FUNERAL HOME, CONDUCTED BY THE REV. KARL BEESLEY. KENNETH BURRIGHT, VOCALIST, WAS ACCOMPANIED AT THE ORGAN BY MRS. ROBERT THOMAS. CASKETBEARERS WERE WILLIAM WARIN, JAMES E. HUGHES, HARVEY KITTLEMAN, TOM MULLIN, ARLEN HUGHES, AND THOMAS BROWN, AND THOSE WHO SERVED AS HONORARY BEARERS WERE W.W. ROBERTSON, ELTON A. JOHNSTON, EUGENE W. MULLIN, LEE ELSON, JAMES LUCAS, GRANT L. HAYES AND T. M. THOMPSON.
