Dr Ronald M Lewis

On August 29, 2022, shortly after his 59th wedding anniversary, Ronald McGhee Lewis completed his journey on earth. He has been a resident of Montclair, New Jersey for the past fifteen years, having moved there with his wife, Shirley A. R. Lewis upon their retirement.  He enjoyed a life of leadership and service in his work as an educator,  social worker, and community organizer. He loved jazz and had a deep to Black people and Black culture. 

Lewis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 1, 1935 to Edward Raymond Lewis and Nan Sylvia Metcalfe Lewis. He had an older brother named Eddie. He graduated from Schenley High School (1953) and Pennsylvania State University (1957). His graduate degrees include a Masters in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh (1959) and a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University (1979). He also received a certificate in African Studies from the Universities of London and Ghana. 

Lewis worked as a psychiatric social worker during his military service at hospitals in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA. After marrying Shirley Redd in Berkeley in 1963, the couple moved to Northfield, Ohio and New York before returning to California for work in their respective fields. Ron held a lead role with the community of Pittsburg (CA) during the turmoil of the reaction to the assination of Martin Luther King. During that time, he helped to found the National Welfare Rights Organization and founded the North Richmond chapter. 

Ron was hired as faculty in the Community Organization program at the School of Social Work at the University of California at Berkeley and recruited a record number of Black students into the Social Work program.  He helped to take the struggle for the inclusion of Black History and Culture into the mainstream of the University, participating in the strikes and strategizing with other Black faculty and students.  This work eventually led to the foundation of the first Black Studies program at Berkeley with Ronald as the first program coordinator in 1968, where he served until 1971. 

That year, Ron entered the Ph.D. program in Education at Stanford University. While at Stanford, Ron became a father with the birth of his daughter, Mendi, in 1973. In this time, he worked as Director of Student Affairs at Nairobi College in East Palo Alto. He helped recruit students, including citizens returning from prison and other non-traditional students, and increased college transfers to four year colleges, including Stanford. 

Ron came to Nashville in 1979 on a post-doctoral fellowship and then went to work at Meharry Medical College in the Department of Psychiatry. From there he went to work for Nashville Public Schools and became Coordinator of Social Work and Attendance for the district. 

He moved to Augusta, GA when his wife Shirley became president of Paine College in 1994. At Paine Lewis was Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of Graduate School Placement. He also served as the founding director of the Mellon Mays program at Paine College. Due to his efforts and counseling style, Paine students were admitted to and attended a record number of  top graduate school programs at leading research universities. Ron and Shirley retired in 2007 and moved to Montclair for a short while to be near their daughter Mendi and son-in-love Keith, but decided to stay when they became grandparents in 2011 and again in 2014. 

Ron Lewis had a dedication to community-building that extended to his personal life. He served as the Advisor to the United Methodist Youth Fellowship at Clark Memorial United Methodist Church and he organized the youth Oratorical Contest for the Optimist Club. With Henderson Kelly and Marcellus Brooks he helped to found the Nashville Sons of Africa. He was also an attentive, loving, wise, engaged father to his daughter and her community and a dedicated grandfather.

Cherishing his memory are his wife Shirley A. R. Lewis, daughter Mendi Lewis Obadike, son-in-love Keith Obadike, grandsons Uche Obadike and Jide Obadike, his extended family, his beloved friends, and the students he has taught for over five decades. Ronald McGhee Lewis was a force in life and his legacy will continue to grow in the hands of all he inspires.  

We celebrate his life on September 10, 2022 at 11 am at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 54 Elm Street, Montclair, NJ 07042 Correspondence may be addressed to Martin’s Home for Service, 48 Elm St., 973-746-2158 <https://www.martinshfs.com>. 

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