We just got news that Gabriel's neurologist has passed away. Our hearts are heavy, not only was he just the sweetest man ever, he was very intelligent and warm and he has helped Gabriel have amazing seizure control and has been able to help Gabe keep a calm mind where he has been able to grow leaps and bounds developmentally from it!
He will be greatly missed!
Dr. Lewis was born on May 15, 1951 at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Growing up in Navy family, he attended schools in Newport, R.I., McLean, Va. and London. He graduated from Portsmouth's Woodrow Wilson High School in 1969. Dr. Lewis was also a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Medical College of Virginia. He trained in pediatrics at Naval Regional Medical Center, Portsmouth and completed a fellowship in pediatric neurology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
At the time of his death, Dr. Lewis was chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Eastern Virginia Medical School and Senior Vice President of academic affairs at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters. He was a gifted teacher and an inspiring mentor to a generation of young pediatricians.
Dr. Lewis won countless teaching awards, including the EVMS dean's outstanding teaching award in 2009. His research advanced the understanding of childhood migraines and he published more than 50 studies, over a dozen book chapters and two books on the subject. He also led a team of doctors that developed national guidelines for evaluating and diagnosing children with migraines.
He was a well-known lecturer on a variety topics related to children's health and will be remembered for his speculation on the diagnosis of Charles Dickens' character Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol.
His passion for children went beyond the US. He participated in medical missions to Honduras and Haiti, where he gave hope to hundreds of children and their families. He was looking forward to another visit to Haiti to establish a coalition of health-care providers to treat children there. He will also be remembered for his love of golf and gardening and his willingness to offer an opinion on any subject. He will be dearly missed by family and friends.
Dr. Lewis is survived by his wife, Penny Barlow Lewis of Norfolk; sister Cherie Morris of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; a niece, Jennifer Morris of Washington D.C; a great-niece, Hailey Wray Love, of Washington, D.C.; and a nephew, Melvin Barlow IV, of Aiken, South Carolina.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, February 22, at 2 p.m. at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Norfolk, where Dr. Lewis was currently serving as Senior Warden. The family will receive friends at H. D. Oliver Funeral Apartments, Norfolk Chapel, on Tuesday, February 21, from 6 to 8 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 1009 W. Princess Anne Road, Norfolk, VA 23507, or Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, 601 Children's Lane, Norfolk, VA 23507.Online condolences may be offered to the family at hdoliver.com
