Russell Ernest Lewis died on December 3, 2023, at home surrounded by his family, after a long decline due to Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia.
He was born in Denver, Colorado on September 1, 1932, to Ralph Spencer Lewis and Ruby Lennea (Johnson) Lewis. Their family moved to San Pedro, California in 1942, where he and his three siblings all graduated high school.
In 1954, Russ earned his BA at UC Berkeley, where he had met Frances Eastlick. They married on June 11, 1955, during his service in the Army and were stationed in Texas and Louisiana. After that, they moved to the Bay Area where Russ attended San Francisco Theological Seminary, earning his Master of Divinity and where their two children, Blaine and Leslie were born.
Russ was first called to serve as minister of the Presbyterian Church in Poplar, Montana, and the family lived there from 1960 to 1965. His second congregation was in Ephrata, Washington until 1968, when both Russ and Fran decided to further their education, moving with their family to Ellensburg, Washington to attend Central Washington State College (now CWU).
After completing his MS in Counseling Psychology, Russ opened his private practice, Family Service and Counseling Center in Ellensburg. He enjoyed his work with couples, families, and youth through his office and through area schools and residential facilities. Fran also completed her MS and began commuting to work at Yakima Mental Health, later called Comprehensive Mental Health of Yakima. At one point, their centers merged, nd Family Service became part of Comprehensive Mental Health, where Russ worked until 1988.
Seattle was the next stop, as Fran opened Integrated Management Technologies, Inc. and Russ offered counseling services out of their office in downtown Seattle. He also met with clients at offices in Everett and Lynnwood. He particularly valued his work with groups of male survivors of incest, becoming what was then the first provider of this service in the region.
Russ and Fran both retired in 2007 and enjoyed what Seattle had to offer in terms of restaurants, theatre, music, and sports. They also enjoyed several trips to Great Britain together. In 2015 they moved to Port Townsend to be closer to their children and to live in the beautiful seaport village they had come to know and love decades earlier when they owned a vacation condo in Port Ludlow.
Words cannot express our love for him and our profound loss. Survivors include his wife, Fran; son Blaine (Sue), daughter Leslie (Pete); grandsons Klayton (Lindsey), Kole (Teri), Kane (Lois) and Wesley (Cheryl) and their families.
Donations in his name may be made to the Seattle Men's Chorus by going to https://www.seattlechoruses.org/donate/. No services are planned at this time.
