Kurt Allen Lewis

Kurt Allen Lewis passed away peacefully at St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Baker City, OR, on August 1st, 2023

He was born August 25th, 1954, to the proud parents Robert Lawerence Frankie and Colita Walker in Portland, OR.

He grew up in the Portland area and attended grade school, junior and senior high school. Where he received his High School Diploma.

Kurt was a true friend and maintained 4 or 5 long-time friendships with his school friends. He would go to Portland and spend time with his friends several times a year and have a good time. Connie, his beloved wife, enjoyed spending time and listening to all the jokes and old-time stories they all shared at their gatherings.

Kurt enlisted in the United States Army on November 29th, 1971, and received an Honorable Discharge on August 27th, 1973. He received a national defense service medal for serving in a war era.

 He served in the 2nd Armed Division troop F Calvary Regiment and received marksman M-16 classification. He was a better shot than a sharpshooter but not as good as an expert.

His responsibilities and job description were Personal Specialist working as an administrative officer for the commander at Headquarters.

Kurt firmly believed in self-discipline and self-control and always held himself to a higher standard. He was employed as a probation officer in Umatilla County for six years. He must have had some very interesting stories from that line of work.

I think Kurt believed that people could change by self-discipline and hard work and accountability. In his profession, he had a hard side to him. The people in the world viewed him as a tough guy, but he had a tender side at home. In his career, he was very focused.

He moved to Baker City, OR, and was hired by New Directions Northwest as an addiction counselor.

He developed an accountability program to help break down criminal thinking in anti-social personalities with criminal thinking and behavior. He facilitated the training; it was well received by law enforcement personnel and even the Judges and probation officers in Baker and Union Counties who attended his training on Holding Criminals Accountable. He was an excellent instructor.

He became acquainted with Connie Pound, attending training meetings at the Chamber of Commerce. She noticed that he was very focused on the trainings they attended. Then she saw him at the YMCA gym, and the conversation began to flow, and friendship evolved, and marriage was to follow in 1999, and they spent 26 years as husband and wife. There is no doubt that Kurt was the love of her life, and Connie was undoubtedly the love of his life. When he wasn't working, he liked to have fun.

He was a chef, continually seeking out recipes, always preparing special dishes for the love of his life, Connie. He helped take care of Mom by cooking and helping with household chores. He was her rock. "Continuous Labor of Love for his Beloved," said Sarah Relka.

 He purchased a boat to go water skiing and fishing at Hells Canyon on the Snake River, in which Kurt and Connie spent many hours on the boat in the water.

He had a great sense of humor; he always had a professional attitude in whatever adventure he chose to be involved with, which included lots of camping, hunting deer elk, and whatever else was legal to hunt.

Hunting was not Connie's favorite activity, so she let Kurt do the hunting for the both of them, which he did.

He would drive to Newport, Oregon, and charter a boat to go deep-sea fishing. He loved to fish for Tuna and Halibut, but he enjoyed the thrill of hooking a large fish and reeling it into the boat.

Kurt enjoyed remodeling houses, and he and Connie decided to remodel their home in Haines. He crawled up on the roof and told Connie to tell him when the drill bit would come through the ceiling. He kept asking, "Has the drill bit come through yet?" "No! Shouted Connie. He yelled back, "It has to!" "No drill bit yet." Said Connie. Kurt came back inside, and there was no hole in the ceiling. They both came to the same conclusion that it was a false ceiling. So, they removed the false ceiling and completed the project. Then, at a later date, he fell off a ladder and experienced a broken neck and suffered from chronic pain due to it.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Colita Lewis. He is survived by the love of his life, Connie Lewis, daughter Dyana, adopted son Jason, stepdaughter Sarah Relka, husband Jeremiah, and step-grandchildren Alex and Lucas.

To honor Kurt's memory, you may make contributions to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or the Wounded Warrior Project.

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