"In Loving Memory of Samuel Joseph Konigbage Lewis Sr."

Samuel Joseph Konigbagbe Lewis II fondly known as “Boy- sam” to his peers, and “Uncle S.J.” to the youngsters, was born on January 9th 1931 to the late Mr. Evelyn Agibola Lewis from Murray Town, and Mrs. Naddie Kolleh
Lewis from the Kambia district in Sierra Leone. Boy-sam, the grandson of the first Sierra Leonean Knight, Sir Samuel Lewis, was called home on December 24th after a brief illness. He received his primary and secondary education at St. Anthony and St. Edwards schools respectively. After finishing secondary school, he was trained as a teacher at Fourah Bay College. Following graduation, he taught at his Alma-mater St. Anthony, from 1952-1956.

In October 1956, he began his Public Health Career at the London Institute of Education, graduating in 1960 with a diploma in Health Education. He subsequently went on to complete additional training at the London School
of Hygiene and Tropical medicine. In 1961 he returned home to Sierra Leone and was employed by the Ministry of Health, as the first Health Education Officer of Sierra Leonean ancestry. On June 06, 1964, he got married to
Ransolina Idowu (nee Macauley) . While working at the Ministry of Health, he received additional training at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, and again at the London School of hygiene and tropical medicine in 1966. Somewhere in all of his shuttles in, and out of the United Kingdom, he became a member of the British Territorial Army.

In 1968 he enrolled at Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University; shortly followed by his wife. He completed a Bachelors degree in Biology. He then went on to complete a Master of Science degree in Health Science at the University of California, Northridge. Following graduation, he returned to Sierra Leone to resume his civil service career as a Health Educator; and also worked as a part-time lecturer at the Fourah bay College, University of Sierra Leone. After a visit to China to study the methods of “bare-foot” doctors in 1976, on his return, he
initiated the Association of traditional healers of Sierra Leone. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Health.

In 1977 he returned to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to complete a second masters degree in Medical Demography; an accomplishment that was widely reported in the Sierra Leone media, as the first Sierra Leonean to obtain that degree. Following graduation, he returned to Sierra Leone to resume his Public Health career. He was the founder, producer and host of the highly popular health discussion program on Sierra Leone T.V., called “Healthy Living”; which ran for a span of fifteen years.

In 1979, on secondment from the government of Sierra Leone, he began working for the World Health Organization (W.H.O) as a Health Education Specialist in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Kenya. His travels with the W.H.O took him to as far away as China Geneva, Mexico and all over the East and Central Africa corridors. Among his peers, he was nicknamed “Sin Bird the sailor” for his frequent travels around the world. Boy-Sam retired in
January of 1994. After the Civil war in Sierra Leone intensified in 1996, Boy-Sam and his wife were evacuated to the United States where they permanently lived with their children until his passing.

In Atlanta, he worked as a substitute teacher for the Fulton County School system for almost ten years, but stopped after his physical strength began to wane. He did so with the utmost integrity, dignity, and pride, as he has
characteristically done his entire life. Pa Lewis was kind, generous, engaging and a soft-spoken gentleman; who was loved and admired by his friends and professional colleagues; not to leave out those he made at the Waverly
Subdivision, where he lived with his son and family.

Sometime in January of last year, to the surprise of his children, he secretly registered and commenced class for his Doctorate in Health Services at Capella University; but was suddenly confronted with the rigorous reality of pursuing such an online program, and keeping up with health challenges. A semester later, he withdrew his enrollment. One of his proudest moments, was to see President Obama elected President for the first and second time.

He is survived by his wife Ransolina Lewis (aunty Dowu), children; Dudley, Samuel III and Evelyn; daughters-in-law Jeannette and Alice; grandchildren Kwannette, Kwardel Samuel IV, Joshua and Julian; his sister Nester Gondor, Alfred Lewis, Moses Lewis, and a host of cousins, niece’s and nephew’s here in the U.S., Europe and Sierra Leone.

Off all the accomplishments of our father, we are most proud that he was a believer and a man of strong Christian faith. He understood how his salvation was earned, and we are rest assured knowing that he is in heaven and that we will one day see him again.