Newstradamus

Dave Lewis

I am at the age where many longtime friends are reaching milestones in their lives. Retirement is fine; death just seems too soon, especially for friends younger than I am.

Dave Lewis was the deputy director of photography at the Baltimore Sun. He died a few days ago from a heart attack while receiving kidney dialysis. He was 57 years old.

He and I worked together for years at the Des Moines Register, and moved on from there about the same time. We both grew up in Des Moines — he graduated from North High and I went to Roosevelt, but we both got degrees from Drake University. He was a terrific photographer, but his claim to fame was as one of the earliest pioneers and a leader in electronic picture editing.

But my strongest memory is of Dave's presence — a big man who always had a huge smile on his face. My highest accolade for any journalist is that he or she is a professional — always eager and willing to do whatever is needed to get the story or photo out to the readers. That was Dave Lewis.

Although I only saw him once (when I attended a conference in Baltimore) since he left the Register 22 years ago, none of his former colleagues, including me, could ever forget him.