… President David Granger remembers Colonel Lewis as Army stalwart, sportsman

By Rawle Toney

KNOWN for his altruistic attitude towards the sport of Rugby, former president of the Guyana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) Colonel John Percy Leon Lewis’ death on Tuesday evening plunged the sport into mourning. Lewis had celebrated his 77th birth anniversary on February 13.

Lewis died while also serving as president of the Pepsi Hornets Rugby Club. He had a brief period of illness and was also mourning the passing of his wife Juliet, who succumbed to an illness a few days prior to his death.

“Rugby lost one of the most unselfish persons it ever had,” Theodore Henry told Chronicle Sport, while sharing his memories of Lewis during his tenure as GRFU president and manager of the various national teams for both and women.

“When we would be training and even on tour, Col. Lewis would dig deep into his pocket to ensure that we have everything. He never turned us away whenever he was asked to help out. He doesn’t look back or do things for people to praise him. He just helps out because that’s the type of person he is and that will be missed,” Henry added.

“Rugby could’ve counted on John Lewis; everyone knows this. What will hurt us even more is that many of the times he was asked to help he was not functioning in an admin capacity, but just as a regular person paying interest in the sport. This will hurt rugby more than anyone can imagine,” Henry said, he was recently named as one of the country’s head coaches.

Henry’s recollections of Col. Lewis were echoed by almost everyone from within the rugby fraternity, with everyone stating that he cannot be replaced.

Lewis, an exceptional Civil Engineer, who worked on several key projects in Guyana, the most recent being the Sherriff Street expansion, was called a “good man” by current president of the GRFU, Ryan Dey, while immediate-past president Peter Green, who offered condolences to the family of the deceased, was still in shock.

Green, who, after years at the helm of the sport, had stepped down owing to his own illness, said John Lewis’ service to the sport will be missed.

Meanwhile, President David Granger said that he was saddened at the death of Col. Lewis, while offering heartfelt sympathy to Colonel Lewis’s children, relatives and friends.

Lewis’ military career started on March 9, 1968 when he enlisted as a Second Lieutenant in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

President Granger, who served with Lewis, remembers the former Army stalwart as someone who spent his entire military service in the Reserve Force of the GDF; the Guyana People’s Militia (GPM).

He was promoted to the rank of Colonel on January 1 1999 and was the Commanding Officer of the 22 Battalion GPM.

According to President Granger, in over 30 years of military service to Guyana, Colonel Lewis greatly enriched the life and development of the Militia.

Apart from being an exceptional rugby player, President Granger said, Colonel Lewis will also be remembered as a good football, badminton and basketball player, who represented the GDF in the aforementioned disciplines.