The Honorable Theodis Preston Lewis died at home in Chatham, Illinois, on February 17.

 

Theodis was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1948, the third of eight children. He attended Horace Mann High School in Little Rock, graduating in 1966. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1970 with a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics and went on to law school at the University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign.

 

In 1974, he took a position as an assistant attorney general for the State of Illinois and later worked as assistant public defender in Sangamon County, the executive director of the State Comptroller’s Merit Commission and a lecturer of legal studies at the former Sangamon State University (now the University of Illinois, Springfield). He also worked for more than a decade in private practice, specializing in civil and criminal litigation.

 

In 1991, he was appointed to the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois as its first Black judge. He believed in using the bench to give opportunities for people to grow and change. He was passionate about supporting mentorship and programs for youth, coordinating with community efforts to keep them out of the adult criminal                  legal system.

 

After making a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as a child, Theodis remained deeply religious all his life. He was always involved with educational and community programs at his church homes in the Springfield area: Zion Missionary Baptist in Springfield, IL., and Pawnee Assembly of God. After retiring from the court, Theodis and wife Judy fully dedicated themselves to traveling around the country and internationally with Family Foundations International.

 

Theodis is survived by his wife of 53 years, Judy Lewis; four children, Ayanna, Preston (Moc), Dara, and Jori Lewis (Gérard Gabayen); two grandchildren Kristina and McKenzie Drake; as well as siblings, Myrtle McIvor, Larry (Willie) , Dr. Beverly Lewis, Wayne, and Kenneth (Yolanda) Lewis; Uncle, William T. (Ira Jean) Lewis, one aunt, Lorene (Bill) Gladney, a host of nephews, nieces, other relatives and friends.

 

He was preceded in death by his brothers Charles and Melvin Lewis. 

 

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum.