Wm. Ralph Lewis
Born: November 14th, 1920
Passed on: September 24th, 2008
Wm. Ralph Lewis, 87, recently of Vancouver, passed away suddenly at home in Dartmouth, on Sept. 24. Ralph is survived by his loved wife, Lucy Durnford Lewis; his brother, Harvey Lewis, Louisbourg; his children, David (Jacqui), Oakville, Ont., Ginny (Don Clark), Halifax, Tom (Pamela), Lachine, Que., and Mary (Don Kennedy), Dartmouth; and grandchildren, Katie, Susie, Laura, James, Colin, Geoffrey, David, Elizabeth and Bill. He was predeceased by his first wife, Myrtle (Sanford), parents, George and Eva and brother, Donald. He was born Nov. 14, 1920, in Sydney, Cape Breton, the second son of George Dickson Defender Lewis and Eva Mary (McLeod) Lewis of Louisbourg, Cape Breton. Above all, Ralph was a gentle man who truly loved his family and was extremely proud of each individual member. As the family Patriarch, he was the one who would regularly keep in touch with his extended family and his worldwide collection of friends. He was very much a staunch Anglican and the church influenced his life in many ways, particularly in his love of music — especially the Vancouver Symphony and the Vancouver Opera. Classical, opera, or choir music was always playing in his house from the time he got up to the time he went to bed. He served as warden of Christ Church in Sydney, N.S., and of St. George’s in Montreal, Que. He graduated from Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S., with a B.Sc. and a diploma in engineering in May 1941. He and a small group of others were at once assigned to the National Research Commission on Secret Naval Research and charged with developing the means and equipment to protect from threat of magnetic mines being sown in Canada’s coastal waters by German submarines against Allied Naval ships and merchant ships going in convoys to Europe. He enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and was eventually posted to Vancouver, B.C. He left the war with the rank of lieutenant in January 1945. In 1942, while in Halifax, he met Myrtle Virginia Sanford of Summerville, N.S.; they were married in Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver on March 13, 1944. Following war’s end, he enrolled at University of Toronto in electrical engineering and graduated in 1947 at the top of his class and was duly registered as a professional engineer and admitted to the Engineering Institute of Canada. He joined and was with Ontario Hydro until 1950 when he resigned and moved to Kentville, N.S., where he had been hired to run the Electric Power System for the town. In 1956, the family moved to Sydney, N.S., where Ralph took up the job of assistant chief electrical engineer at the Steel Plant where he became division superintendent - rolling mills in 1954; he left the company in 1969 and subsequently joined the Montreal-based firm of Surveyer Nenninger & Chenevert (now SNC) in 1970 as a senior engineer. Following the death of his beloved Myrt in 1975, he married his dear Lucy (Durnford) of Montreal in 1979 and they moved with SNC to Vancouver in 1982. SNC became his career home for the rest of his working days until 1988 when he retired as an executive vice president of SNC Group. Ralph came late to the fraternity of Freemasonry. His grandfather, father and both brothers were all involved in the many aspects of the gentle craft. It was therefore an emotional evening when his son, David, as Worshipful Master of Mt. Hermon No. 7 Lodge in Vancouver, personally raised him to the Sublime degree of a Master Mason. Ralph’s brother, RW Bro Harvey Lewis had come from Louisbourg, C.B. to be in attendance. There was not a dry eye in the Lodge. In retirement, Ralph and Lucy made a yearly trip to the resort at Napili Kai on Maui — from 1987 to this year and similar trips to their cottage at Catalone Lake in Cape Breton. He and Lucy regularly attended and supported the many facets of the arts in Vancouver. In the summer of 2008, they decided to sell their home in Shaughnessy Place in Vancouver and move to Dartmouth, N.S., to be closer to family. They moved in on Sept. 9 and he died Sept. 24. Special thanks go to Elena Delmo who has been with them for over 13 years and who was Lucy and Ralph’s full-time caregiver for the past year. There will be visitations at Dartmouth Funeral Home (29 Queen St., Dartmouth) at 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27. In addition, at St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church in Louisbourg, there will be a visitation 10 a.m.-12 noon, Monday, Sept. 29 followed by a 2 p.m. burial service with interment in the Anglican cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to your charity of choice. Condolences may be made online through Dartmouth Funeral Home at plevandier@ns.aliantzinc.ca.
