Born Oct. 20, 1952
Bennington, Vermont
Died March 18, 2024
Los Angeles, California
Details of services
The family plans to hold memorial services at a later date.
David Alastair Lewis, 71, died Monday, March 18th, 2024, at Kaiser Hollywood Hospital in Los Angeles, California surrounded by his loved ones and a wonderful team of Emergency and ICU department staff. David was under the care of his physician, team of specialists, and chaplains at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Rosemarie (Perfect) Lewis; his son Alec Lewis; his daughter Abigail (Lewis) Worthington (Jamie Worthington); sisters Cornelia (Lewis) Dopkins, (Richard Dopkins) and Deborah (Lewis) Rodecker ( Robert Rodecker); and brother Kevin Lewis (Becky Lewis); nieces Anne Hoaldridge-Dopkins, Jane Dopkins Broecker, Jessica Rodecker; nephews Jacob Hill, Seth Dopkins, Luke Rodecker; godchildren Thomas Beatty , Dorothy Beatty, Jessica/Navjot Kaur; “extra” godchildren Jon Beatty and Blossom Beatty Pidduck; and many life-long friends.
David was born in Bennington, Vermont on October 20, 1952, and was raised in East Aurora, New York by parents Burdette Gibson Lewis Jr. and Phebe Ann (Clarke) Lewis where he attended the Nichols School (class of 1970) in Buffalo, New York and spent his summers at the Clarke family home in Manchester, Vermont.
David followed Cornelia and Kevin’s paths to Harvard College graduating with the class of 1974 and enjoying his time as member of the Delphic Club and Hasty Pudding Club where he proudly presented Gloria Steinem with the club’s first “Person of the Year” award in 1973 and met 1973’s Man of the Year, Jack Lemmon, who encouraged David to give Hollywood a shot. David took Mr. Lemmon’s advice and made the move to the City of Angels to pursue acting and served as a script reader for United Artists for several years.
Throughout his 17 years in Los Angeles, David acted in a number of television pilots, AFI and USC Student Films, and several theater productions – during one of which, he met the love of his life Rosemarie Perfect in 1978. The two quickly built a fabulous and loving circle of friends through their acting and church communities. In addition to his work as an actor/producer/director/script reader David followed his spiritual inclinations to pursue a masters in Theology from Claremont School of Theology in 1989.
On October 29, 1983, David and Rose married at St. Thomas Episcopal Church and welcomed baby boy Alec at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital on December 5, 1988. In the summer of 1991, the Lewises made the “temporary” move to Manchester, Vermont where they welcomed baby girl Abigail on September 20, 1991, at the Rutland Hospital.
David and Rose spent 31 years in Manchester, slowly building a community through children’s play groups, Dorset Playhouse, Dorset Theater Festival, and Zion Episcopal Church where Rose served as the Parish Administrator for 23 years. David was a jack-of-all-trades in Manchester serving as the editor of the News Guide, teacher at Long Trail School, administrator for the Manchester School Fund, title searcher, and personal chauffeur for Alec and Abigail’s activities. In his retirement, David focused on his creative writing. In the fall of 2022, David and Rose finally decided to end their temporary stay in Manchester, a town they grew to love more than they ever imagined, to venture back to the West Coast, finding an apartment conveniently located in the building next to their daughter’s and within 2 miles of their dear friends in the Hollywood Hills.
David was a beloved son, husband, father, second-father, brother, uncle, and friend. He loved discovering what people were interested in and utilized his curiosity serving as an alumni admissions interviewer for Harvard for several years. He was the class-clown of any room and embodied the phrase: “why say something in a sentence that could be said in a paragraph”. He had an opinion on and story for everything, deeply appreciated performance both as the actor and viewer, and passed his love of cinema down to his children. He will be missed dearly as he joins loved ones who departed before him including parents Burdette and Phebe Ann; niece Helen Wingard Hill; great uncles Dumont Clarke and James McClure Clarke; great aunt Elspeth Clarke; cousins Ambrose Clarke, Mark Clarke, and Susie (Clarke) Hamilton, William Hamilton, Dr. Will Hamilton; best man Ned Beatty, as well as several dear friends.
