Charles Merriman Lewis

Charles Merriman Lewis, 93, of Wakefield, RI, died peacefully at South County Hospital on August 5th, 2024 surrounded by his family. He was the beloved husband of Cornelia Redington St. John of Greenwich, CT, to whom he had been married for 60 years.

Mr. Lewis was born in Providence, RI on April 9, 1931, the son of the late John B. Lewis, Jr. and Edith Merriman Lewis Curtis. He was a grandson of the late Charles H. Merriman and Edith Richmond Merriman, and John B. Lewis and Harriet Sprague Watson Lewis, all of Providence.

Mr. Lewis grew up in Providence and Lake Forest, Illinois and graduated from St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH in 1949 and Yale University, Class of 1953. He spent two years in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving as Communications Officer on the USS Colonial, LSD 18, an amphibious ship operating out of San Diego, CA.

Mr. Lewis worked for 6 years for the Crompton-Richmond Co., a family-related firm in New York, NY, specializing in the manufacture and sale of corduroy and other pile fabrics. In 1962 he joined Scudder, Stevens and Clark in New York, an investment counsel firm providing portfolio management services. He retired from Scudder in 1996, and moved to South Kingstown from his 35 year residency in Greenwich, CT. While in Greenwich, he chaired the the Retirement Board of the Town of Greenwich for 10 years.

He was a member of the Round Hill Club in Greenwich, the Hope Club in Providence, and the Dunes Club in Narragansett. He also served for 20 years as an officer of the South Kingstown Land Trust.

Mr. Lewis was an avid private pilot, who also enjoyed boating, golfing, and beekeeping.

In addition to his wife Cornelia, a sister Sophie Page Lewis of Wakefield, RI, and a late half-sister Susanne Curtis Deane of Williamsburg, VA, Mr. Lewis is survived by a son, Gordon Watson Lewis and his wife Cynthia Farrell Lewis, both of San Mateo, CA. He is also survived by a daughter, Sandra Redington Orth, her husband, Dr. C. Richard Orth, Jr., both of W. Palm Beach, FL, and two granddaughters, Carter Redington Orth, and Susan Merriman Orth, both of New York, NY.

Funeral service will be held at St. Peter’s by the Sea Church, 72 Central St., Narragansett, RI, at 11am on Friday, August 16th. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the South Kingstown Land Trust, 17 Matunuck Beach Rd., South Kingstown, RI 02879.