James William (Bill) Lewis

1945 - 2010

James William (Bill) Lewis died May 15, 2010 of heart failure in Gyeongju, South Korea, where he was teaching at Dongguk University. A traditional Buddhist funeral ceremony was conducted.

He was born September 4, 1945 in Tacoma, Washington to James and Mildred Lewis. He spent part of his childhood in Lebanon, Oregon and later moved to Napa, California.

Bill earned a bachelor's degree in Linguistics at The University of California at Berkeley.

He devoted much of his life to investigating other cultures and gathering linguistic data while traveling extensively in the middle east, southern Asia, Western Europe, Japan, South America and most recently Tibet. While in Iran he married Jeannette Simon-Oghli. They later divorced.

Bill's interest in the Northwest Native American tribes led him to complete his thesis on the phonology of the Central Kalapuya language at the University of Victoria in Canada.

At the time of his death he was clearing a trail of bamboo up the side of a mountain with his machete. Some would say he was helping a friend, others might say he was reliving memories of his time in the Peruvian forests, but perhaps it may have been more symbolic of his journey in life--relentlessly hacking his way through a tough, hard trail that nobody else could see...

He is undoubtedly missing a cup of his thick, homemade espresso, The New York Times and a lively discussion of current affairs...

He is survived by his son, Alexander Ulric Lewis of Eugene; a brother, Richard A. Lewis and wife, Elizabeth of Bellport, New York; two nieces, Laura and Anna; and his best friend & partner for many years Lorelea Anne Hayden of Eugene.