Walt Lewis has spent most of his 82 years providing sight and insight. The slender white haired man recounts a remarkable life sitting in his Provo home surrounded by memories. A stuffed pheasant takes him back to a memorable hunt. A painting of a favorite mountain, given him by a now deceased hunting friend, adorns a wall. The large house is quiet since Walt's wife Orpha died last year.
Lewis is a reticent hero whose inventions play roles in our everyday lives. Anyone who has taken an eye examination at school or while getting a driver's license has used a machine like the one he perfected while working for the Chicago-based Stereo Optical Company. He also invented a retina scope and a device that tests children for lazy-eye syndrome.
After retiring in 1979, Lewis and his nephew Greg Wilson developed a plastic mold that helped transform Utah county based Mity Lite into one of the world's most successful table manufacturers.
Lewis never expected to be an inventor. He followed his brother Ben into the banking business, getting a degree in accounting and business administration. When inducted into the army in World War II, he spent two days taking an aptitude test. It was his first clue that banking wasn't for him. The results suggested he consider engineering. After a stint in the Pacific, he gave it a try. A lack of math education frustrated him. He eventually gave up and tried optometry. He worked for his brother Chris at the Stereo Optical company, a place filled with sophisticated machinery.
"My world changed", says Lewis,. "I learned how to make things." The self-taught optical engineer had found his calling. He loved his work. "The pleasures of life come in creating, not spending," he says.
His daughter Tamara calls her father a workaholic who labored from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. six days a week. Still, she says, Walt made time for his four children, three of whom have medical degrees and one who is an engineer.
"He was always there, sitting and reading." says Tamara, a medical administrator in Salt Lake City. "He was interested in what you wanted to talk about. It is hard not to excel when your parents tell you how wonderful you are. They expected the best. We felt that appreciation."
Many times, Lewis would quote poetry as a way of answering a complex question. He once wrote a single spaced 8-page poem about his 1938 ocean voyage to South Africa where he served an LDS mission.
One silent night in southern Utah, Walt suddenly began reciting Wordsworth's 'Daffodils' to explain his feeling to his fellow campers. He treasures Kipling and recites Harris Merrill's "Christmas Eve on the Desert' each holiday season.
Nowadays, Lewis rises six days a week at 5:10 a.m. to play tennis and racquetball, often adding a swim.
"Psychologically, that leaves me feeling that I have my whole life ahead of me and not behind me."
One fun memory - the first time he met his 1st grandchild Mary in August 1978. It was a great day!
We all miss him since his death on June 3, 2002. Love this great photo of Grandpa hiking into the light!
Happy Father's Day - Dad & Grandpa!
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