Memorials, 0717 ALBJ, 78 The Alabama Lawyer 298 (2017)
| Author | Robert F. Lewis, J. |
Robert F. Lewis, J.
Robert F. Lewis
Robert F. Lewis passed away on March 26,2017 at the age of 87. Born on February 26,1930 in Birmingham, Robert Lewis grew up in the Great Depression and World War II as a youth. He grew up on the south side of Birmingham, and his father, Bernard, operated the Lewis Supply Company, a plumbing supply and appliance company. My father never really had an interest in the business. Both he and his brother, Gerald, wanted to spread their wings.
My father often told the story of when he drove out to Stanford University in Palo Alto with a professor at the young age of 17. After one semester, though, he returned home to the University of Alabama to obtain his bachelor's degree in accounting. Gerald, meanwhile, headed to Massachusetts and Harvard for both undergraduate studies and law school, while my father was at his brother's rival school, the Yale Bulldogs, for his law degree-one of the upper classmen, according to my father, was our own Judge Acker.
After a year and a half of law school, my father was called to active duty during the Korean War. He was a Lieutenant Company Commander for the 822 Quartermasters Supply Company in the Army. After completing his service, he returned home to work with his dad and attend Birmingham School of Law. However, he still wanted to complete his law degree, and he decided to enroll at Emory University. He took and passed the bar after completing two years, and he almost went to work with Reuben Garland, a renowned criminal attorney in Atlanta, but, instead, he finished his third year and returned to Birmingham to put out a shingle.
My father always represented the little guy-the underdog. With the exception of serving as a city judge in Birmingham for a few years, he handled mostly personal injury cases with a sprinkling of criminal defense and domestic cases. He loved it. Practicing law was his hobby, and I was fortunate to spend 10 years practicing with and learning from him.
He was a very intelligent and intellectual individual-the smartest man I knew, and he had a big heart. There wasn't a panhandler he didn't help. He loved people, and as my wife, Ashley...
To continue reading
Request your trial