Marvin Lewis Obituary

Marvin Gene Lewis, beloved husband, cherished father and grandfather, dear brother, uncle, cousin, father-in-law, brother-in-law and friend to many, passed away unexpectedly July 3 at the age of 78.Born on December 22, 1944 in Oakland, Marv was a proud veteran of the Vietnam War and was deeply patriotic and supportive of the veterans community. He was a longtime supporter and client of Operation Freedom Paws, an organization that matches disabled veterans with dogs and trains them to be service animals. He deeply cherished the American flag and proudly spearheaded numerous efforts to place and replace American flags at schools, churches and other community locations. Marv also served as a volunteer chairman of the Santa Clara County Heart Association.Marv grew up in San Jose and graduated from Del Mar High School in 1962. He attended San Jose City College, then went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Public Administration at the University of California, San Francisco. He served proudly for 32 years as a law enforcement officer with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department and the San Jose Police Department. While still working with the police department, he taught classes in police procedures to police academy students and continued teaching in retirement.Marv and Maureen, his wife of 52 years, have been longtime parishioners at Holy Family Church in San Jose. Marv served as past Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service order, and served many other roles in the Holy Family Church community. The couple enjoyed many years of travel throughout the world. One of their favorite destinations was Hawaii, where they especially cherished vacationing with their children and grandchildren. The pride and joy of Marv’s life were the four grandsons he held so dear – Jack, Cole and Sam Lewis and Lucas Howards – who affectionately call him “Papa.” Marv was a die-hard front-row cheerleader at every one of the boys’ baseball and football games. Marv will be remembered most for his deep faith and immense love of God and his family. He touched the lives of many, leaving a lasting imprint on all who knew him. He will be forever loved and deeply missed. In addition to his wife Maureen and his four grandsons, Marv is survived by son Scott Lewis (Brooke), daughter Kristen Lewis (Brian Howards) and sister Claudia Allgrove.Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, July 18 at 11 a.m. at Holy Family Church, 4848 Pearl Ave., San Jose. A reception will follow in the Church Community Center. A private family inurnment will be held at a later date.Per Marv’s wishes, please consider a donation to Holy Family Church, 4848 Pearl Ave., San Jose, CA, 95136 OR Operation Freedom Paws, 13930 Llagas Ave., San Martin, CA, 95046.