John D Lewis

He was a hiker, a pilot, a dog lover, the family lawyer and most of all a great dad and husband. Dad, John David Lewis, passed away on January 11, 2026, in Flagstaff, Arizona. Dad was born in Phoenix, Arizona on September 6, 1936, the youngest of four children born to Mildred Christine Jaeger Lewis and Perley Mitchell Lewis. As a child, he and his sister Patricia rode the family horse from the family home in Phoenix through what was then open farmland to Tempe, Arizona. While he was growing up, his father was in the U. S. Army. At one point, the Army sent them to Wyoming. When he reminisced about his time in Wyoming, he said that it was the coldest place he ever lived.

Dad spent most of his life in a much warmer place, Arizona. He attended Phoenix Union High School and graduated from Arizona State University in 1959. His mother went to college later in her life and he and his mother graduated from college the same year. While finishing his undergraduate degree in anthropology, he attended law school at University of Arizona, graduating third in his class in 1960.

In the midst of all this, he met and married Margaret Jones on January 29, 1956. By the time he graduated from law school,they had two children and their first dog, Hoho. They settled in Tempe, where they had two more children and Dad practiced Law for 50 years. He and Margaret were married for 62 years. He cared for her when she became ill until her death in 2018.

Dad had many hobbies that he loved. Just like most things in his life he gave these hobbies his all. He became a pilot, and an instructor. He passed on his love of flying to one of his grandsons. His eldest grandson, Ryan, became a pilot just like his grandfather. Dad also took up gliding. He excelled at it becoming a gliding instructor as well. He loved shooting firearms and he became an NRA instructor. He loved hiking. He did so many hikes in the Grand Canyon, park rangers new his name. He enjoyed hiking so much he bravely took six girls ranging in age from 16 to 9 on a week-long hike in the Rocky Mountains.

Dad could get frustrated with us kids, but he was really an old softy. He also really loved his dogs. At one point, he and Momcame close to replacing all their children with dogs after all the kids left home. He took care of all of us and gave us a great example to aspire to. He was a genuinely kind, thoughtful and caring person. We will miss you, Dad.

Dad is survived by his daughter Tracey, her husband Eric and their children Avenel and Erik; by his son David, his wife Theresa, and daughter April; by his daughter Margaret and her children Dominic, Vivien, Mary, Rachel, and Georgia; and his daughter Julie, her husband Obie and her children Ryan, Maggie, and Steven.