LEWIS O. DOWNS

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla., and BREWER – After a bare knuckle fight against cancer, Lewis Oliver Downs, 75, was relieved of his Earthly duties at the end of the mid-watch Sept. 26, 2008, at Wuesthoff Hospice, Rockledge, Fla. Born April 26, 1933, he was raised in South Brewer. Lewis, following in his four uncle’s footsteps, joined the Navy in 1950 at age 17. He received a Commanding Officer’s Meritorious Mast for saving a fellow sailor after he had fallen overboard off Thule, Greenland. Later he worked at Eastern Fine Paper, Brewer. He returned to sea sailing for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command in various capacities in the engineering department and in the Naval Reserve as an instructor at Great Lakes, Ill. He sailed on cargo, underway replenishment, survey and missile/NASA tracking ships with stories to tell of all. Whether it was pulling into Saigon in 1963 with enough ordnance to start a war with, river pirates in Sierra Leon or perhaps a helicopter scouting flight, Lew always had a story, an opinion and a smile. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Anna (Ijaizs) Downs; daughters, Dianna Locklin and Sherri Downs; grandson, Lee Chapman; great-granddaughter, Gabriela Chapman of Merritt Island, Fla.; son, Robert Lewis Downs of West Bath and their families. Rest in peace sailor, fair winds and following seas.