Elwyn Franklyn "E.F." Lewis, 99, Mission Hills, Kansas, beloved father and grandfather passed away peacefully at his home on February 18, 2015.

E.F. was born November 29, 1915 in Douglass, Kansas, to Elmer F. and Louisa J. (Crites) Lewis. He graduated from Northeast High School and Northeast Junior College where he studied business and began his long baseball career as a catcher/manager. He played semi-professional baseball until he was 40. He shared many humorous stories about his baseball days, giving us a glimpse into an era of baseball long gone.

E.F. met the love of his life, Elizabeth M. DeCavele in 1934 and married her on May 13, 1939. They raised three children, traveled the world together and were lifelong members of St. Ann Catholic Church.

E.F. began his career at Firestone. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to become a distributor for Mobil Oil & Gas, the owner of Helm's Firestone store, and later Universal Supply, Inc., an appliance distributorship which he owned until he was 85. He owned farms in Lacygne, KS and Marshall, MO. He and Elizabeth owned Lewis EE Ranch in South Dakota for 40 years where he raised registered horned Hereford cattle on almost 4,000 acres. One of his proudest moments was when his bull won the Grand Championship at the American Royal in 1995 among other cattle awards. He looked forward to pheasant hunting every October on his land in S.D. with his son, grandsons, brother and friends.

He enjoyed all sports and went to many Chiefs, Kings, soccer and hockey games. His favorite sport was baseball and he was an enthusiastic lifelong season ticket holder for the KC Athletics and then the KC Royals. He played golf until he was 90 and enjoyed playing with his family and golf buddies. He was proud that he sent his three children to KU and especially enjoyed watching Jayhawk basketball.

Later in life, he became a member of the KC Civil War Round Table and the Sons of the American Revolution, the Delaware Crossing Chapter.

E.F. loved growing roses and tomatoes and won a prize for growing the largest tomato. He enjoyed chatting with people and telling them his stories. His generous nature, sense of humor and classic one-liners will be greatly missed. The family would like to thank Barbara and Neva, his nurses who helped him during his last six weeks of life.

Elwyn was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth, a grandson, Riley Appletoft, and his two brothers, Norman and Wayne Lewis. He is survived by his son, Robert E. (Martha) Lewis, MD, Dayton, NV, two daughters and their husbands, Betty (Ted) Riesinger of Prairie Village, KS. and Debbie (Ron) Appletoft of Mission, KS; nine grandchildren: Eric, Jill and David Lewis, Lisa Waltz, Lynne Quinlan, Laurie Vos, Liana Riesinger, Patrick and Quinn Appletoft: and seventeen great grandchildren.

Visitation and Funeral Service

Visitation will be held 10:00 am, Saturday, February 28, 2015, at Amos Family Chapel of Shawnee, followed by an 11:00 am memorial service. Burial will be at Resurrection Cemetery.

Memorial Contributions

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Camp Barnabas, PO Box 3200, Springfield, MO 65608, a summer camp for people with disabilities.