A Man Well Loved,
A Life Well Lived
Tributes to Crismon S. Lewis
in honor of his 65th birthday
About this Tribute Book complied by Seth with his introduction:
In this
compilation,
they call you lots
of things: Bishop,
President, brother
(and brother-in-
law), friend, son,
nephew, fellow BYU
fan, grandpa, and
sweetheart.
I call you Dad.
On this 65th
birthday of yours—
Monday, December
30, 2013—all of
us, a diverse set of
voices coming from
across the continents
and across the
decades of your life,
want to celebrate
this milestone by
reflecting on a
single question that
animates this work:
How has
Crismon Lewis made
a difference in my
life?
That was the
query that got this
project started, and
it’s the theme that
runs through every
one of these pages
and the memories
and stories and
tributes they recount.
A few weeks ago,
as Ondalynn and I
were brainstorming
about what we could do for this momentous
birthday, I got an idea that was, no doubt, a
spiritual prompting. It occurred to me that, for
a birthday that conjures reflection on a life’s
work, the best gift that we could offer would
be a window into the impact you have had
throughout those 65 years. And while we as
your immediate family could fill many pages
with memories of a dad who shaped us in ways
positive and profound—we also realized that
this project needed to account for the much
wider, more expansive role that you have played
in the lives of literally hundreds and hundreds of
people.
Your boyhood in Ajo.
Your mission in South America.
Your stewardship of the Daily Universe.
Your service as bishop in Florida.
Your editorship of the Latter-day Sentinel.
Your role in Landa’s best years.
Your church service in Arizona, and then in
Oregon—in stake presidencies, in bishoprics, on
high councils, in teaching positions, and now as
stake president.
Your influence in the community as a
volunteer, organizer, board member, and
connector of people and ideas.
Your leadership through Reliv, helping
others improve their health and grow their
businesses.
And, of course, your unflagging
commitment—amid all else in your life—to
your wife, your children, and the gospel glue
that keeps us bound to each other and the
generations past.
At each station along the way, you changed
lives, inspired hearts, opened doors, conquered
challenges, and taught by word and deed. Yet,
how could we “capture” that impact in some
fashion—how could we bring life to your life’s
work?
This is where Mom came in. With her help
in gathering up email addresses for a whole host
of people in your life—from family members
to the Skousens to mission companions to
Sentinel compatriots to Reliv friends to church
associates from across the many years and many
callings—I was able to reach out and invite
them to contribute to this project by answering
that simple question: How has Crismon made a
difference in your life and the lives of others?
My initial plan was to organize “65 Ways
that Crismon Lewis has Made a Difference in
Our Lives.” But then the reflections started
flooding in—waves upon waves of tributes, some
funny, others poignant, all of them infused with
an abiding love for a man they admire. Within
days, we passed the 65 tributes mark; before
long, the tally was well over twice that number.
As the tributes filled my inbox, day after day
before Christmas, I began to think of the final
scene in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. George
Bailey, his lip bleeding, is watching in delighted
awe as friends pour in, showering him with
money, love, and full-throated songs of praise.
Of course, you weren’t about to throw yourself
off that bridge, nor are you facing an arrest
warrant or a run on the bank—but, for every
person, and especially for you at this moment
of reflection, I think it’s worth remembering
the lesson that Clarence, the angel, conveyed to
George that night:
“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so
many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves
an awful hole, doesn’t he?”
And so, at the risk of making this seem as if
you’re attending your own funeral (don’t worry,
we really do believe you’re going to live past 65!),
we present this book as a tangible reminder of
the many ways—65 and counting—that you
have touched our lives for good.
And, like George’s brother Harry in that
final scene, I hereby call this happy chaos to
order, merrily lift a glass (of sparkling cider!) in
tribute, and raise a toast:
“To my father, the richest man in town.”
With gracious help from Mom, who gathered
up email addresses and photos, along with the
support and input of my siblings—Ondalynn,
Alice-Anne, Vivienne, Dallin, Meredith, Crismon,
Julia, and Emily.
Dad's response in an email to those who participated:
December 30, 2013
Dear very special friends and family,
You are receiving this email because you very kindly participated in a wonderful surprise birthday project for my 65th birthday. It was a birthday gift like no other!
I had hoped to send each of you a personal note and express my gratitude for taking the time during the holidays, no less, to share such generous tributes. But it would have taken weeks to write each of you and I know some of you are wondering how the project turned out. I am taking the liberty of attaching the first 3 pages, which includes our son Seth's introduction to the book. I thought you might enjoy reading how this project, to which you contributed, came together.
Suffice it to say I was blown away by what I saw when Vivienne and our children presented me with a 47-page booklet on Monday evening (my 65th birthday). Your memories, anecdotes, teasing, praise, etc. have brought smiles, tears, laughter and long-forgotten remembrances that will bless me in ways you'll never know. I feel like I just attended my funeral! :) Vivienne suggested, "If you ever feel down or get down on your yourself, you can just turn to this book." It's so true. My greatest wish is that, if it were possible, I could orchestrate this type of project for each of you, as you, too, have touched so many lives…especially mine!
One of the stories recounted in the book was from our daughter, Alice-Anne, who remembered how, in the mid-1990s, we had a family meeting in which we talked about wanting to be together in the LDS Temple some day, recognizing there are age and worthiness requirements. So we calculated when we could all be there and came up with a slogan in our family, "Be worthy and clean in 2013." (Actually that joyous event happened on Dec 28, 2012, three days before 2013, thanks to President Monson lowering the age of full-time LDS female missionaries just three months earlier.) That lead the children to wonder how old their "aging" father would be that year. Once they worked the numbers, they quickly changed our family slogan to: "Keep dad alive 'til he's 65."
Well, here we are. I hope you didn't just write my eulogy, but know that I feel, as Seth so adeptly wrote in his introduction, that I truly am "the richest man in town!"
With love and deep appreciation for blessing me with your kindness on my 65th birthday,
I was grateful to play a small part in the compilation of this special book of tribute to my wonderful husband, Crismon. He is the joy of my life, and by the generous words of praise from others, he has had such a great impact on so many lives. We thank many of our family and friends that took their time to participate. It is a treasure.
The picture below is Christian and Evelyn (Williams) giving Grandpa Lewis their birthday expressions of love to him that morning. Then the Vance's and the Caudle's joined us that evening for dinner. Soon we were joined by all of our children (except Emily in Argentina) for a Google Chat to watch Dad open this gift of love. It came down to the wire as Gary Vance hurried to pick it up just as it was getting "off the press" at Office Depot. Amazingly, it all came together, the employees set aside their other projects when they heard of our need to have it done for this special occasion, and whipped it out in record time.
I can honestly say, it was one of the tenderest times in our home as Crismon was truly overcome with the outpouring of love extended to him.
He is adored by his grandchildren. They light up when Grandpa enters the room. They love to go to "Grandpa's house!" The last picture with Paxton is so typical of Crismon and his grandchildren. He loves interacting with them, and they absolutely love it, too!
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