[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 174 (Tuesday, December 10, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO ANDREW J. LEWIS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 10, 2013

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember and pay tribute to 
Mr. Andrew J. Lewis, a pillar of the Columbia, South Carolina 
community. As an elementary school teacher, assistant principal, and 
principal, Mr. Lewis touched the lives of countless students over many 
decades.
  Mr. Andrew Jackson Lewis was born on June 2, 1917 in Sumter County, 
South Carolina, the oldest of eleven children of Sam and Rosa Lewis, 
Sr. He married Margaret Pearson Lewis on Valentine's Day 1942; they 
remained married until her death this past April. He leaves behind a 
daughter, Andrea Lewis Jones, two grandchildren, and three great-
grandchildren.
  Educated in Sumter County Public Schools, Mr. Lewis was valedictorian 
of his class at Lincoln High School. He graduated cum laude from 
Benedict College with a degree in mathematics. At Benedict, he was a 
member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, which means I am proud to call him 
a brother. He went on to receive a Master of Science degree from my 
alma mater, South Carolina State University. He also served honorably 
in the U.S. Army Air Forces, earning the rank of Technical Sergeant.
  Mr. Lewis's professional career began at Celia Saxon Elementary 
School in 1946. He later became Assistant Principal at W.A. Perry 
Middle School and then Principal at Greenview Elementary School, a 
position he held for 16 years until his retirement in 1982. My three 
daughters attended Greenview Elementary School, and I saw firsthand the 
positive impact he had on them and all of the students under his 
charge. He was held in such high regard at Greenview that after his 
retirement, the school was renamed the A.J. Lewis Greenview Elementary 
School.
  A devoted member of Chappelle Memorial AME Church, Mr. Lewis served 
on the Steward Board under three different pastors, worked diligently 
on the Budget and Finance Committee, and chaired the Men's Day programs 
for ten years. With this level of dedication, Mr. Lewis was given the 
well-deserved honor of ``Man of the Year'' by the church in 1985.
  Mr. Lewis was widely involved in the broader Columbia community as 
well. He was a member of the Capital City Lodge #47 (Price Hall F&A 
Masons), the Columbia Transportation and Advisory Committee, the 
Columbia Municipal Elections Committee, and the Richland County and 
South Carolina Retired Educators Associations. He served as chaplain of 
the Benedict Columbia Alumni #2 Club, president and vice president of 
the Columbia Luncheon Club, president of the United Martin Family of 
South Carolina, as vice president of the Shandon Neighborhood Council, 
and as a member of the committee that renamed Valley Park the Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Park.
  In recognition of this impressive record of service to the community, 
Mr. Lewis received the O.P. Taylor Humanitarian Award and the Living 
the Legacy Award as an outstanding educator from the National Council 
of Negro Women. Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in 
remembering this distinguished educator and community leader. Mr. Lewis 
will be sorely missed, but his contributions will live on in 
perpetuity.

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