Piers LEWIS Obituary (2021) – St. Paul, MN

English professor, writer, family man, known for his scholarly interest in ideas (which often came with strong opinions), his adventurous spirit, and his humor, kindness, and generosity, died on December 1st, 2021, in St. Paul, surrounded by his family. Piers was born December 13, 1930, first child of Georgiana (Ingersoll), a descendant of pioneering St. Paul and Red Wing families (Ingersolls, MacLarens, Densmores), and Herbert Lewis, the crusading editor of the Pioneer Press and Dispatch from 1949 to 1964. The elder Lewis played a key role in transforming St. Paul from a mob-ridden sanctuary for crooks, conmen and corrupt public officials into a model of good government. Piers credited his parents with his curiosity about the world, his social conscience, and his love of language. Much of Piers Lewis’s life was spent defying conventional standards and expectations, and questioning received wisdom. He loved reasoned debate about words, ideas, and politics. Though at times he could be less than diplomatic, he possessed a rare ability to admit fault, to be persuaded by new information or a well-presented argument, and to laugh at himself. He approached the world with a skeptical but open mind. For those close to him, there never was a more delighted laugh, a warmer, more unreservedly generous, compassionate, and loyal heart. A bricoleur, he was fond of improvising fixes and accomplishing anything he could with come-alongs, wire, duct tape. He loved Cuban cigars, fly fishing, baseball, Fellini, WB Yeats, The Magic Flute, Don Quixote, New Orleans jazz, animals, good scotch, chess, photography, cooking dinners for everyday and large family gatherings, and spending time among his clan at the cabin his grandparents built on the St. Croix River. In the 1950s, he rode a motorcycle with sidecar across Europe with his sister and brother; he took part in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March on Washington in 1963; exchanged love poems with his wife every Valentine’s Day; wrote Shakespearean Questions, a book of essays for the common reader interested in Shakespeare; taught himself to dive from a high cliff into the sea; and took down a deer as a first time bow-hunter in his 70s. As an adolescent and young man, he worked for the Great Northern railroad as a gandy dancer in North Dakota; in an assembly line that stamped out refrigerator doors; and mucking out barns at the State Fair. At the age of 15, Piers traveled alone from St. Paul to the Northwest Territories and worked on one of the last two sternwheelers on the Mackenzie River as it transported freight to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic coast. Piers graduated from St. Paul Academy in 1949, where he was a top student and played football, wrestled, and was a champion marksman and captain of the rifle team. He went on to Amherst College, where he studied philosophy, mathematics, and literature. He received a Ph.D in English Literature from Harvard in 1954. He won a Fulbright to study at Cambridge University, served in the U.S. Army in Germany, and taught English literature, first at Wellesley College, then at Bemidji State University, and finally at Metropolitan State University. In 1983-84 Piers taught at Hebei University in Baoding, PRC. Piers met the love of his life, Katherine Greene, at a spaghetti dinner he hosted with his roommates while at Harvard. She had recently returned from the Middle East and he overheard her talking about it; he was struck by the sound of her voice, her wit and adventurousness. Piers and Kathy raised four children. At a time when men who participated in caregiving were the rare exception, Piers was a hands-on father, sharing equally in changing, bathing, feeding and soothing their children. In grade school, college, graduate school, and in all of the institutions where Piers taught, he made lasting friendships. The people who counted Piers a friend and source of thoughtful conversations included the contractors, tree cutters, house painters, road graders and handymen he hired, as well as neighbors, colleagues, former students, and his adult childrens’ friends. After he retired in 1995, wanting to read the Iliad and the Odyssey in their original language, he enrolled in Ancient Greek at the University of Minnesota. He also returned to studying what he called his “first love,” mathematics. When he was 73, he decided to get his first tattoos, including the names and birthdates of his grandchildren on his forearm. As some grandparents pull photographs from wallets, Piers pulled up his sleeve. He was not only an adoring husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather, he was also a second father and mentor to many nieces and nephews. If anyone asked for his help, he was ready to provide what he could: rides to or from the airport, money to come home, letters of support, a place to land, a shoulder to lean on. He provided a sense of safety and reassurance that the world is an OK place, as long as you have love and family. Piers died just shy of his 91st birthday, after a decline of several years from Alzheimer’s disease. When so much had been lost, he retained his humor and deep attachment to his family, as well as an ear for poetry and music. He was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert L. and Georgiana “Georgie” (Ingersoll) Lewis, and four dear first cousins, Janey Washburn, Bruce Ingersoll, Laura Ingersoll Johnson, and Alan Summersby Emmet. Piers is survived by his wife of 61 years Katherine G.; children Benjamin Lewis (Krishnakali), Georgeanna Lewis (Sean Toren), Katherine, and Rebecca; sister Georgiana “Genna” Anderson, and brother H. Finlay Lewis (Willee); grandchildren Rohan Lewis and Bruno Toren; first cousins Ed Summersby (Judy) and Brenda Ingersoll; and many nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and cousins; in-laws Tom and Margaret Greene and Fred and Ellie Horlbeck and their children and grandchildren; and former student and honorary family member, Ping Wang (Steve King). A celebration of his life will take place in the spring or summer of 2022. Memorials preferred to any of the following organizations: Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop (mnprison writing.org), Wild Rivers Conservancy (wildriversconservancy.org), ACLU (aclu.org), Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org)