We are sad to share that Professor Emeritus Lewis “Lew” Edgar Fikes died Aug. 29 at Willow Brook Run.
Lew taught chemistry at Ohio Wesleyan between 1985 and 2004. In a Transcript student newspaper article honoring his 19 years of service, he shared his belief in the transformative power of an OWU degree.
“The education that one receives here is not merely for one’s own private use,” he said. “The growth and transition that students undergo while they are here will be used to enhance the communities that they will be a part of when they leave. The situation here is such that they will want to contribute positively to their communities for the rest of their lives.”
Lew’s family shared in his obituary that after his retirement, their “beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, teacher, friend, gardener, volunteer, and nature enthusiast” taught in the Messages program at Stratford Ecological Center, volunteered at the Arc of Appalachia, his church, and Earlham College, where he met his wife of 58 years, Martha.
Please join us in extending our deepest sympathies to Martha, their daughters, Rachel and Lara, and all who knew and loved Lew. A time to remember him will be held at a later date, and his family suggests planting native trees or flowers, or supporting a nature organization to remember him. Read Lew’s complete obituary.
Source: The Offices of Human Resources and the Provost