Charles L. Lewis

Charles L. "Chuck" Lewis - Chuck was born in Los Angeles to Frances and Charles Lewis on July 14, 1922. His father was an engineer and his mother worked for the telephone company. At the age of 6 he was enrolled in the Miramar Military Academy in Redondo Beach. When the recession hit, his father moved the family to the Northern California Gold country. They settled in Forest Hill where his father operated several gold mines. The family lived for a short time in Jackson before moving to Sacramento. He was a paper carrier for both the Sacramento Union and the Sacramento Bee. Chuck is survived by his sons, David of Petaluma, Gary of Santa Rosa, Marc of Sacramento, his brother John, and his wife Ann of Novato, and his niece Jenny and her husband Sean of Petaluma. At his request, no services will be held. Private Interment at Cypress Hill Memorial Park, Petaluma. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Petaluma, 416 Payran St., Petaluma, CA 94952. Chuck was active in all sports in high school, and played semi-professional baseball in the old Sacramento Valley League. WW II broke out in December of 1941 and Chuck enlisted in the Army Air Corps in January of 1942. He was not called to active duty until October 1, after undergoing flight school in various cities in Texas. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant at Brooks Field on October 1, 1943. While flying at night out of Brooks, he had to bail out at three- hundred feet all the while trying to convince another cadet to jump. The cadet did not jump and was killed when the plane went down. Chuck ended up landing in a large cactus plant in south-east Texas.