Obituary of Carl Wesley Lewin

Carl Wesley Lewin, 95, died on April 18, 2013, at Lakewood Continuing Care Center, in Waterville, Maine, where he had resided since 2010. His family wishes to thank the staff at Lakewood for their exceptional care during his residency. Carl was born in Hanover, NH, on April 23, 1917, the eldest son of Charles Henry Lewin and Grace Della (Smith) Lewin. He was educated in the Hanover schools and graduated in 1939 from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he served as Captain of the undefeated 1938 football team and was a member of the Skull Society. Years later he served on the Board of Trustees at WPI. He married Janet Hancock in 1938, in Elkton, MD. After graduation, Carl worked for the TVA, the US Coast and Geodetic Survey, and finally for the Austin Company, first as a field engineer and then as a project engineer, retiring in 1982 as President of the International Division. During his 40 years with the Austin Company, Carl was able to satisfy his love of travel and exploring other cultures, eventually visiting 31 countries and 6 continents. With Janet, Carl created warm, welcoming homes for themselves and their four children in Palatine, IL; Wilton, CT; Aurora, OH; Beaumaris, Australia; and Rangeley, ME, where they retired. Carl was an active community volunteer, serving as President on the Blackhawk Council for Boy Scouts in Chicago; President of school boards in Palatine and Rangeley; President of the Franklin Memorial Hospital Board of Directors and the Maine Hospital Association; and vice-president of the Rangeley Logging Museum Board. He created the design for the building that houses the logging museum artifacts as well as designs for homes in the Rangeley area. He served briefly in the US Navy at the end of World War II. Above all, Carl was a family man. Upon retirement, he bought his first computer and taught himself how to use it, eventually constructing a family genealogy chart that extended along a complete wall of a large room in the house in Rangeley. Through this interest, distant relatives were located and invited to family reunions held at Carl and Janet’s home. He lived near his son Robert’s family and became an integral part of their lives for more than10 years, especially after Janet became ill. His children and grandchildren remember him as honorable, wise, gentle, the voice of reason in the family, and with an insatiable love of learning, a goofy sense of humor, and corny jokes. Carl was predeceased by his wife, Janet; his parents; a brother; and a son-in-law. He is survived by four children: Byron C. Lewin (and partner, Dorothy McBride), Tacoma, WA; Joan Beckham, Poughkeepsie, NY; David C. Glenn-Lewin (and wife, Kathleen), China Village, ME; and Robert R. Freihoff-Lewin (and wife, Deni), Rangeley ME and Hulbert, OK. Also surviving are 10 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; 2 step-great-grandchildren; 2 step-great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Nancy Devlin; and many nieces and nephews. Carl’s remains will be cremated and interred in a family plot in Pine Knoll Cemetery in Hanover, NH, where there will be a private memorial of happy memories. He will be greatly missed. Condolences may be sent to www.directcremationofmaine.com