Obituary

Lewis Paul Hays, age 75, of Bellingham, WA, died Tuesday, August 15, 2017. He leaves behind his wife of 50 years, Vivian (Collins) Hays; their children Jennifer Hays of Tromsø, Norway; Hilary (Hays) Engebretson and her husband Bryant Engebretson of Bellingham, WA; and Joshua Hays and his wife Jesse (Nickerson) Hays of Seattle, WA; Lew’s sister Helen Norman of Riverside, CA and his brother Mahlon Pitt of Charlotte, NC; as well as four grandchildren and many, many friends in many different states and countries.

Lewis was born on September 5, 1941 to Geneva Saathoff and Paul Lewis Hays. He attended Edison High School in Tulsa, OK and studied engineering at the University of Tulsa, where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. In 1964, he began working for General Electric and moved to Schenectady, NY in 1965.

In Schenectady, he met and fell in love with Vivian Collins of Swanton, VT at a local ski club. They were married on August 5, 1967. In the years that followed, Lew, Vivian, and their children lived in Schenectady, NY; Cinnaminson, NJ; Davenport, IA; and again in Schenectady. In 1981, Lew accepted a job with Valmont Industries and moved with the family to Omaha, NE. Lew worked for Valmont until his retirement in 1997. In 2001, Lew and Vivian moved to Bellingham to be near their daughter Hilary and their grandchildren. They lived in Bellingham together until his death.

Lew enjoyed traveling, and in particular driving; he and Vivian often drove across the US to visit friends and family, and just to explore. He especially enjoyed going for long drives in his new Mazda Miata with a Washington Miata Club. In recent years, they drove to Clearwater Beach, FL where they spent the winters and connected with family and friends from the various places they had lived.

In the summer of 2016, they rented an RV and traveled with their three teenage grandchildren on a wonderful tour of the National Parks of Arizona and Utah.

They both also enjoyed traveling internationally. Two of Lew’s years with Valmont were spent living in France with Vivian. They lived in Vichy, France in 1990, and in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the Paris suburbs in 1996.

After moving to Bellingham in 2001, they purchased a share in a European-based barge, Vertrouwen, and spent two weeks every summer touring the canals of Europe accompanied by friends and family. At the time of Lew’s death, they were on their way to spend time on the barge near Strasbourg, France with two other couples, old friends from Schenectady who were also celebrating 50 years of marriage.

Lew had a broad curiosity about life and the world and the universe. He was an avid photographer, an amateur astronomer, and a boat enthusiast.

Lew was a strong Christian and was a member of Christ the King church in Bellingham. He was a cheerful, optimistic person with a wonderful and quirky sense of humor and a spirit of generosity. People responded easily to his outgoing, kind, and intelligent nature, and all of these qualities won him many friends. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Memorial donations can be made in memory of Lew to Christ the King Church – Bellingham, WA.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, August 31, 2:00 p.m. at Christ the King Church, Bellingham.