John Hiram Lewis III

John Hiram Lewis III died peacefully on February 11, 2012, following a traumatic brain injury suffered in a fall. Born January 7, 1931 in Ft. Sheridan, Illinois, he was the son of Col. John H. Lewis, Jr., a career army officer, and Henrietta Mason Lewis. As an "army brat", John grew up on army posts all over the U.S., as well as the Philippines, attending many schools. While his father served overseas in WWII, his mother settled the family in Louisville, KY, her childhood home, where John attended Male High School. In 1949, he received a Congressional appointment to the USMA at West Point, from which he graduated in 1952. He was commissioned in the Field Artillery and attended the Artillery Officer's School at Ft. Sill, OK, then served briefly in the 595th Artillery Battalion at Sill. In 1953, he was assigned to Korea, where he served in the 45th Division as an artillery battery officer. Later the commander of the 45th Division, Gen. Philip De Witt Ginder, chose him to serve as an aide-de-camp. His Korean War service earned him a Bronze Star Meritorious medal with two battle stars. On return to the U.S., he began his first assignment at Ft. Benning, GA: battery commander of the artillery battalion that conducted exercises and demonstrations for the Infantry School. In 1956, he resigned from the army to become an aerospace engineer at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, jet engine manufacturing division of (then) United Aircraft Corp. in Hartford, CT. John retired in 1997, and his long career at P&W spanned the development of the jet engine as we know it today. In various capacities, he worked on every jet engine produced in East Hartford, from the TF30 and JT4D military jet fighters to the JT8D and four subsequent commercial transports. In mid-life he applied his skills in overall systems and performance analysis, as well as concept design, to stationary industrial engines used in power plants to produce electricity. While at P&W, John pioneered several engineering tools that are still in use. He was the first engineer at P&W to recognize the possibilities of using personal computers to simulate engine performance, thus saving the enormous expense of repeated engine tests. To that end he developed a program called SOAPP: State of the Art Performance Planning, now used industry-wide. His program, Autoanalysis, uses advanced statistical methods to diagnose jet engine test data, and he also created a special force measurement system to evaluate and correct for the effects of engine test surroundings. Another important aspect of his career at P&W involved training younger engineers by teaching courses on jet engine thermodynamics and aerodynamics. He also taught many years as an Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Hartford Graduate Center of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he had earned an MS degree and completed the course work for a PhD. He loved teaching and was known for his creative lessons and class activities. As a by-product of teaching, John published numerous technical articles in the aerospace trade journals and made presentations at professional society meetings. These included the American Institute for Aeronautics Astronautics (AIAA) and the Society of American Engineers (SAE), as well as the New York Academy of Sciences. For McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., he wrote the Gas Turbine section of the Marks' Handbook for Engineers (9th and 10th editions), as well as the Gas Turbine article for their Encyclopedia of Science and Engineering. After retirement, he became an engineering consultant in the jet engine field, working for Belcan, Inc., and later, for Infotech Aerospace Services. At the same time, he worked for TurboVision Consultants of Miami, FL, which specializes in large, ground-based, gas turbines for electric power, as well as other future energy producing plants, such as wind, solar, and nuclear. An active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, he served two terms as Ruling Elder, one as Deacon, codified a personnel employment handbook, and sang tenor in the Chancel Choir. Always a participant and never an observer, he loved music, and became an accomplished recorder player, with a keen interest in early music. He also loved squash and tennis, competing nationally as a senior in squash, and reaching a rank of #3 in his early seventies, and #5 in his late seventies. John was a member of the Hartford Golf Club where he chaired the squash committee. Many years ago, he served as Captain of the YMCA squash team, a member of the Central Connecticut Squash League (now defunct), of which he was chairman for one term. John was a member of The Hartford Golf Club, and, until two years ago, a member of Pocono Lake Preserve, PA. He is survived by his dearest friend and beloved wife of 58 years, Natalie Lewis, his son, Stephen and his wife Barbara, his daughter, Jean M. Lewis, Phd., and her husband, Hans Boehringer, and a daughter, Valerie McHugh, and her husband, Peter. He leaves eight dearly loved grandchildren of whom he was immensely proud: Jennifer Lewis, Allison Boehringer, Andrew Boehringer, Thomas Boehringer, Kelsey McHugh, Gibby McHugh, Eamon McHugh, and Riley McHugh. Pre-deceased by his older sister, Henriette Lewis Egger, he leaves a younger sister, Elizabeth Lewis Bartlett, her husband, Scott, and three nephews and four nieces.

Calling hours will be from 4-7 p.m on Friday, March 9, at Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home, 136 S. Main St., West Hartford. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 10, at 11 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford. It was John's dream that more young people be encouraged to help solve future problems in transportation and energy production. He also had a life-long love of music. Thus, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in John's name either to HFPG, Inc., for the "John H. Lewis III Scholarship Fund" at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, 10 Columbus Blvd., Hartford, CT 06106; or to Westminster Presbyterian Church, Music Fund, 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford, CT 06107. For directions and

online condolences, please visit www.taylorandmodeen.com.