Donald Carr Lewis

Donald Carr Lewis (aka Donald Mason Brown)

1949 – 2023

Don C. Lewis, 74, passed away peacefully in his sleep in his home in Trona, California, on March 19, 2023. He was born Donald Mason Brown in Akron, Ohio, in January 1949, to Wanda Mason Brown and John Baker Brown Sr., the second of their four sons. From birth, Don was a very outgoing child, popular with adults as well as his peers. As a young child, he sometimes slipped away from playing with other kids to visit with adult neighbors who were longtime, trusted family friends on the quiet side street where the Brown family lived.

Don excelled in athletics and played football from the Pee Wee League through high school. He was a linebacker on the Akron East High School team that won the city championship in 1965. He was also an avid fisherman in his youth, spending many hours with his family fishing Lake Erie and local bodies of water throughout Ohio.

Early in his adult life, Don was a partner in a small firm that used computer technology to provide graphics services for clients. Later, he worked with the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco for many years. There he played a key role in establishing Treasure Island, a residential academy for high-risk San Francisco high school students struggling with truancy, abuse at home, neighborhood violence, or other forms of instability. Over the years, he mentored dozens of children, helping them to go on to stable and productive lives.

More than a decade ago, Don retired to Trona after serving for years as a maintenance supervisor for several hotels in the Bay Area. In this small tight-knit community in the Southern California desert, he dedicated the rest of his life to raising his beloved granddaughter, Jennifer Rose Lewis, 9, who affectionately calls him Poppy. An animal lover all of his life, Don was the owner of several dogs. Most recently, he and Jennifer shared their home with Grey-Grey, a gentle and playful pit bull who enjoyed trying to nudge Don off the sofa and having Jennifer chase him around the apartment after he pulled off one of her socks.

Don is survived by his son Donny, granddaughter Jennifer, brothers John Baker Brown Jr (Delilah Wynn-Brown) and Richard Oliver Brown (Marion), and cousin Maryam Suluki (Andre Williams), whom he and his brothers always claimed as their only "sister." Don was preceded in death by his parents, his youngest brother Steven A. Brown, and daughter Jennifer Lewis. He leaves behind a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, other family members, and friends in Trona, the Bay Area, metro Atlanta, New Jersey, and throughout Ohio.

Among his many attributes, Don projected a strength and confidence that made family and friends feel safe in his presence. He will be remembered most for his outgoing personality, his care and compassion for others, his willingness to serve and, most of all, his love and devotion to his children and granddaughter. He learned a great deal from the adversity – as well as the love – in his life and never hesitated to share his life's lessons to help guide others along a path to the success of their choosing. As his Delancey Street manager for many years said: "Don had the biggest, most giving heart and leaves with us all his legacy of love and commitment to others."