D. Craig Lewis, born to Frederick D. and Lois Lewis on Sept. 9, 1944, in Champaign, Ill., passed away Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. He grew up in the Midwest with his siblings Rick, Danny and Diane.
Craig attended Northwestern University, where he met and later married Karen Geary. After graduation, the two of them moved to New Haven, Conn., where he attended Yale Law School. Daughter Cyndi was born in 1968, and he graduated Yale in 1969.
After law school, the family moved to Denver where Craig practiced law. He was a partner at the firm of Pendleton Sabian Guthrie and Lewis.
Son Adam joined the family in 1972. In 1975, the family moved to Moscow. Craig joined the faculty at the University of Idaho Law School, following in the footsteps of his dad who also taught law. He quickly got involved in his adopted hometown, serving many years on the Moscow Planning and Zoning Commission. In 2005, he was given the Idaho State Bar Association Professionalism Award for his career-long example “for his fellow attorneys of the epitome of professionalism.” He wrote the Idaho Trial Handbook, which analyzed Idaho trial law and serves as a reference book for Idaho attorneys and judges to this day. He was proud of teaching the “Lewis & Clark Show” with Merlyn Clark at the judges conference each year.
Craig was an exacting teacher and held his students to a high standard. More than one student said that, while his classes were difficult, they always appreciated what they’d learned when the course was done. One memorable story he used to share was about when a particular Supreme Court justice came to give the Bellwood Lecture at UI and requested to go fly fishing while in Idaho. Of course Craig was tapped to organize a trip for him.
He retired from the University of Idaho in 2007, having taught thousands of students during his career. Cyndi remembers going out to dinner with him several times in Boise and having a former student stop by to greet “Professor Lewis.” Students had also been known to chase him down in airports all over the country.
Karen and Craig separated in 1994, though they remained close friends.
Craig married Dauna Lyons in 2006. They spent the last 18 years happily traveling, spending time with friends and enjoying their various pets. Craig was always good at puzzles and solved many crossword and sudoku puzzles as part of his daily retirement routine with Dauna. He also volunteered regularly at, and was on, the board of directors for his local food pantry in Florida.
Craig was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed rugby, hunting, fly fishing and whitewater rafting. He played rugby with the Harlequins in Denver, and served as the faculty adviser for the University of Idaho club team, Blue Mountain, and also played with them. Later in life, Craig also played a few times with the Colorado Old Boys Rugby Association (COBRAs) when invited to join for a tournament or match.
Craig was proud to have helped his friend Joe McGurkin start “Burgers and Flies,” an event that raised funds for the Special Olympics. They brought those who fly fish together so the experts could teach the newbies how to tie flies — and also to eat, drink and be merry.
He was a natural storyteller and could captivate audiences with his distinctive voice and his hand gestures. He loved a good joke, especially if he was the one to tell it.
“Captain Lewis” had many happy weeks floating on various rivers with his rafting friends. Whether it was the Lochsa, Selway, Colorado, or Salmon River, the Captain could always be counted on to give the safety talk before the trip set sail. He and a few friends developed the International Rules for Cans, which he referred to as the “Laws of the Game,” resembling, if only slightly, horseshoes. Many a river trip included competitive Cans games, with Craig ensuring that players only used a regulation-sized can — no tall Coors cans allowed on his watch, and the correct size of bail bucket as a receptacle — five gallons; no more, no less.
Craig loved cooking and never met a recipe he couldn’t make “better.” He considered himself a connoisseur of red wine (though sometimes we think he thought the taste of the wine got better the lower the price of the bottle).
Family was important to Craig. And he also liked the idea that “friends are the family you choose.” He spent lots of time at the Garden Lounge with his “Hoorah” family. His children remember him as a deeply honest person who taught them the importance of a good work ethic.
Craig was predeceased by his parents and brothers, Rick and Danny. He is survived by his wife, Dauna, of Englewood, Fla.; sister Diane Farrell (Mike), of Venice, Fla; daughter Cyndi Faircloth (Daryle), of Moscow; son Adam Lewis, of Seattle; grandson Jefferson Lewis-Jones, of Seattle; granddaughters Hailey Lewis (Garrett), and Jordan Faircloth, of Moscow, and Caitlyn Faircloth, of Quilcene, Wash.; ex-wife Karen Lewis, of Moscow; his “Hoorah! Family” (you know who you are); as well as many friends, rugby teammates and rafting buddies.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date (TBD). In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent in his memory to the UI College of Law Excellence Fund (uidaho.edu/giving/law/excellence-fund), Englewood Helping Hand, Inc. (englewoodhelpinghand.org) or Idaho Rivers United (idahorivers.org).
