Stephen Lewis

Stephen Lewis died less than two miles from where he grew up, but traveled extensively during his almost 95 years of life.

He was Alfred and Evelyn Lewis's first child, followed 17 months later by his brother Peter. The boys were born during the Great Depression with the last name Goldberger. Their father was convinced by an employer that the surname was "too long," so he legally changed it to Lewis (his middle name).

Stephen spent his formative years sharing a room with his brother in the Hotel Taft, a Times Square landmark which for many years was known for Vincent Lopez and his orchestra as well as for having the highest hotel occupancy rate in New York City. Their father was the general manager.

He left Times Square for Harvard and, after graduating, landed in Rome to study film in the 1950s. Though a free-spirited artist at heart, he eventually joined SRA, a subsidiary of IBM, in Chicago. He soon met his great love Nancy, married her, and became a father to Lisa and Jenny.

He and Nancy moved to Santa Fe, NM, in the 1980s, and he helped run her iconic clothing store, Nancy Lewis, which was known for its wearable art. He also wrote and published a memoir of his time growing up at the Hotel Taft (Hotel Kid: A Times Square Childhood).

Stephen and Nancy later moved to Los Angeles and were an integral part of their granddaughters' lives.

After his family, his great love was food - choosing it, cooking it, eating it, discussing it, paring it with wine, and writing about it. He was published in several magazines, including Gourmet.

Stephen was a smart, funny, affectionate, curious, warm, erudite man who will be missed by all who knew him (or even knew of him), but especially by his brother, daughters, son-in-law, granddaughters, nieces, and nephews.