James Pettis Lewis

JAMES P. “JIM” LEWIS, of Bellville, Texas passed away on May 2, 2019.

Jim was born on April 21, 1933, to the late Ernest and Jane Lewis of Red Cloud, Nebraska. He was a mechanical engineering (honor key) graduate of the California Institute of Technology in 1955 and spent the next 64 years of his life dedicated to his work, which he cherished dearly. Jim was one of the pioneers of the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Industry in the United States, as technical director in the design and operation of the 1st US LNG Import Terminal, Everett LNG (formally known as Distrigas) in Everett, Massachusetts.

He could never carry a conversation without the letter’s LNG somewhere in the discussion.

Jim was very well respected and still considered as an international LNG regulatory expert, even after he retired from Braemar in 2012. Most of his career, Jim was a licensed Professional Engineer in the US and Canada. He was an affiliate of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Society Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), and a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 59A and Canadian Z-276 LNG Regulatory code committees.

With a love of gardening and antiques, his hobbies included collecting silver spoons and brass candlesticks. Shopping at the annual Houston library sale was something he always looked forward to but smuggling the books inside his barn and house was always a challenge! Jim was a bit of a paper hoarder but his papers and the collections he accumulated over the years were his grandest treasures. His sense of humor and kindness are something that anyone whoever met Jim will always remember.

He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Peggy; her two children, Holly and Jeff; and granddaughter, Anna; the mother of his children, Roberta Isgar; daughter, Margo; and granddaughters, Rachel and Danielle; son, Sterling; and grandchildren, Dawson and Chloe; son, Justin; and grandchildren, Jackson and Avery. Jim is also survived by his brother, Warren of Santa Barbara.

Friends who wish may make memorial gifts to Bellville Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 55, Bellville, Texas 77418.

The strife is O’er
The battle is done
The Victory of Life
Now is won