Coach David Lewis, 60, a resident of Cleveland, passed away Thursday, Sept. 11, 2003, at his residence.

He was a teacher and a coach, having taught 38 years and coached 31 years.

Local schools that were included in his teaching and coaching tenure include Prospect Elementary School, Bradley Junior High School and Walker Valley High School.

He was a member of Broad Street United Methodist Church.

His life touched countless individuals in his dedication to young people.

David was an avid runner and fitness enthusiast and used this in his work as coach of the Walker Valley Cross Country Track and Field Teams.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Paul Samuel Lewis and Edith Wright Lewis.

Survivors include his daughter and son-in-law, Shelley and John Coles of Carnesville, Ga.; special friend, Marsha Goodwin of Cleveland; two grandchildren: Aaron Coles (16 years old) and Ellis Coles (13 years old); two brothers: Dr. Edwin Lewis and his wife, Martha, of Mooresville, N.C., and Dr. Robert Lewis and his wife, Jan, of Salisbury, N.C.; and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Graveside service will be held Saturday, Sept. 13, 2003, at 2 p.m. at Sunset Memorial Gardens with Pastor Andy Ferguson and the Rev. Bill Griffith officiating. Pallbearers will be Eddie Frazier, Brian Copeland, John Thomas, Dr. Brian Beard, Jonathan Cantrell and Robbie Winters. Honorary pallbearers will be Jim Barger, Jerry Frazier, Kent Copeland, Johnny Wilson, Johnny Cartwright, Harold Morris, Joe Spencer, Bill Winters, Dale Wilson, Jim Brown, and the Walker Valley High School cross country team.

The family requests memorials be made to the Walker Valley High School David Lewis Scholarship Fund, 750 Lauderdale Memorial Highway, Cleveland, TN 37312.

The family will receive friends today from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at Grissom Funeral Home, who has charge of arrangements.

By RICHARD MELVIN Sports Editor

Published September 12, 2003 10:13 AM EDT

How do you say good-bye to a friend?

As a personal rule, I try to keep coaches at a professional distance. It's nothing personal toward anyone, but I feel my job as a sports writer is best served if I don't get too close to those I am writing about.

David Lewis was different.

He was a friend of mine and his passing will leave a large hole, not only in my life, but in the lives of all who knew him.

I'm not noted for sentimental diatribe, but when it comes to a man like Coach Lewis, it's time to put professionalism aside and speak from the heart.

I had never met Coach Lewis before I interviewed him for a basketball preseason preview of his new team, the Walker Valley Mustangs.

I explained to him who I was and what I was doing, and it didn't take long before I was drawn in by his effervescent personality. In no time, we were talking like old friends. Coach Lewis treated me that day the same way he treated me every time I saw him after that -- like a friend of his.

Coach Lewis was always available for whatever I needed from him. Even though he was embarrassed by the attention he received about a profile I wrote on him, he patiently told me his life story. As I sat with him that afternoon in the teacher's lounge at Walker Valley, it occurred to me as I took notes that I would never be able to do him justice. I did the best I could on the story and in his usual, good-natured way, he told me what a good job I had done.

I have never been paid a higher compliment.

The one thing Coach Lewis wouldn't talk about was his win-loss record. He told me it was all about the kids and winning and losing don't really matter. His goal was to teach his kids what he knew. Whether they won the game or not, as long as they gave it their best effort, he was proud of them.

"I think that you can certainly have a positive influence on a kid," he told me. "Hopefully you can look back on someone you have influenced and they will come out and make a positive influence of their own."

Hopefully, as the young people whose lives he touched grow older, they will come to understand just how much he meant to them. The kids were his life and he was happy to share what he knew with all who would ask.

Coach Lewis was the basketball and track coach at Bradley Junior High for some 26 years before he moved on to take the position at Walker Valley. He was proud of his new school and proud to be the first coach of the Mustangs.

He knew his job at the school went far beyond that of being a teacher/coach. He held the confidence of many of the students he came in contact with and they never hesitated to ask his advice on any number of subjects beyond basketball.

The coach was always humble about his influence. He never touted it. He was mild-mannered to a fault. I think that is why he gained the trust of so many. One of his biggest assets was the fact that he realized just being a friend to a kid who needed help went far beyond giving advice.

"Just be a person. Maybe sometimes you just need to listen, sit there and don't even say anything, just listen," he told me.

"I think teachers play a very big role in that (influence). Especially to kids that you get close to," he said. "And if a kid is going to play on your basketball team or your track team, you're going to have an influence on that kid."

I can't remember a time when I was around Coach Lewis that he wasn't in a good mood. He was always ready with a quick one-line zinger that would send me laughing. His ability to make light of a tense situation saved me more than once when I had forgotten a detail about one of his games.

I will always remember him smiling and giving me a hard time about something I had written or should have written.

I will always regret we never had that dinner at J. Alexander's we kept promising one another.

I will always remember him as a friend who I could call on at any time and get a positive response no matter how silly the request.

I will always remember him as the winner he was. Not only on the basketball court and track field, but as a human being.

I will always miss him.

Thanks, Coach. I am proud to have you as my friend.

------