{"id":35501,"date":"2026-09-17T12:12:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/?p=35501"},"modified":"2026-09-17T12:12:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:12:54","slug":"in-memory-mair-lewis-former-purdue-veterinary-medicine-first-lady","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/in-memory-mair-lewis-former-purdue-veterinary-medicine-first-lady.php","title":{"rendered":"In Memory: Mair Lewis – former Purdue Veterinary Medicine First Lady"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Mair Lewis (n\u00e9e Harris-Hughes), the widow of the late Dr. Hugh Bilson Lewis \u2013 the fourth dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine \u2013 is remembered with appreciation and admiration by the Purdue Veterinary Medicine community after her passing September 7, 2026, in Vancouver, Washington. She was 83.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Known for her warmth, sharp wit, and generous heart, Mair Lewis left an enduring imprint on the communities and people she touched across two continents. In particular, her caring, character, and kindness endeared her to students, staff, faculty and alumni of the College of Veterinary Medicine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Born in Rhyl, Wales, Mair was raised with a deep appreciation for learning and culture. She earned her teaching certification from Furzedown College at London University. In 1965, she married Dr. Hugh Lewis and began a devoted partnership that spanned decades of shared experiences and international moves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Mair\u2019s adventures took her through Wales and England-with homes in Rhyl, Wrexham, Shrewsbury, London, Cardiff, and Weston-super-Mare, before she relocated to the United States in1966. She lived in Pennsylvania where Hugh completed a residency at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and served on the faculty. Their connection to the State of Indiana dates back to 1976 when Hugh first came to Purdue to teach before joining Smith, Kline and French Laboratories.\u00a0\u00a0Then Mair and Hugh returned to Purdue when Hugh became dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1986 and served in that position for ten years.\u00a0\u00a0During that time, Mair and Hugh were known for their enduring partnership and togetherness.\u00a0\u00a0They later moved to Oregon before settling in Vancouver, Washington.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Two\r\n
Mair and Dr. Hugh Lewis on the occasion of the installation of the Continuum Sculpture in front of Lynn Hall in 2000.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Throughout her life, Mair found immense joy in exploring and experiencing the natural world. She paired this love of life with a profound commitment to service. A passionate volunteer, coordinator, and philanthropist, she gave her time and talents generously to organizations close to her heart, including the International Center at Purdue University, Guide Dogs for the Blind, the Banfield Charitable Trust, and the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington. Colleagues and friends fondly remember her quick humor, organizational poise, and kindhearted nature. Above all, Mair was devoted to her family.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In keeping with Mair\u2019s explicit wishes, no formal funeral service is planned. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Mair\u2019s honor to the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A complete obituary is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"three\r\n
Mair Lewis with Hugh and Dr. Richard Gobel (PU DVM \u201968), former Purdue Veterinary Hospital director, at a graduation reception in 1998.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mair Lewis (n\u00e9e Harris-Hughes), the widow of the late Dr. Hugh Bilson Lewis \u2013 the fourth dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine \u2013 is remembered with appreciation and admiration by the Purdue Veterinary Medicine community after her passing September 7, 2026, in Vancouver, Washington. She was 83.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":35513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[951,598],"class_list":["post-35501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-people","tag-in-memory","tag-our-people"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35501"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35539,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35501\/revisions\/35539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vet.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}