Halley B. "Hal" Lewis Jr.

Halley B. "Hal" Lewis Jr. -- the nicest man you could ever hope to meet -- passed away peacefully on January 2, 2026, at age 84. He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Mary Gene, his three children Hal III (Melanie), Brad (Deirdre) and Bethany (Brian), his ten grandchildren Halley IV, Tiffany, Lacey, Aves, Kendall, Sydney, Keirsten, Will, Barrett, and Bronson, and his one great-granddaughter Winnie. He was the proud oldest child of Halley Bronson Lewis and Cola Hardee Lewis, and he loved telling (perhaps even embellishing) old stories of his childhood in Arcadia, Florida, that he spent with his siblings Kay, Sam, Pat and John.

Hal graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor's degree in education in 1964 and went into teaching before returning to FSU to earn his master's degree in 1968. He then began working at the Florida Department of Education, where he served in various supervisory roles until his retirement in 2002. Since that time, "Granddad" made it his life mission to scour the internet in search of every obscure item, rare toy or nutrition-less snack that any of his grandchildren even mentioned in passing; if it ever existed, he could find it. He single-handedly kept eBay and the postal service afloat. He never owned a cell phone or sent a single text, which was a good thing, since he would have been far too compassionate to ever say "no" to any extended warranty offer.

A Celebration of Hal's life for family and friends will be held later this spring. In honor of his career, and the decades that "Granny" spent teaching kindergarten here in Tallahassee, please consider donating to the Florida Education Foundation, a charity that helps provide needed resources to teachers and creates learning opportunities for underprivileged students. Or just find a teacher and give them a "thank you" hug like he would have done.

Kelly Barber of Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the Lewis family with their arrangements.