Lewis Franklin Travis -- a warm and good man known to the many people who loved him as Frank, Dad or Papa -- died in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, after 84 years of making the most of life and giving of his generous spirit.
He was a graduate of Keene High School, where he was senior class president and captain of the basketball team in an era when home games in the low-ceilinged gym were crowded community events.
Following graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the U.S.S. Missouri as an electronics technician during the Korean War. This was a formative experience, a rich source of vivid and, occasionally, mildly off-color stories he never tired of telling. He was a proud veteran who enjoyed reunions with Missouri shipmates and was deeply appreciative of others who serve.
After leaving the Navy, he married Martha Jane Grace of Swanzey, New Hampshire, whom he began dating during high school. They initially lived in temporary housing built for veterans at the University of New Hampshire, from which he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. He later earned a master’s degree at Northeastern University, and worked his entire career for Bell Labs, the research and development arm of the Bell Telephone Company.
He and Marty had four children -- Mark, Michael, Philip and Rebecca -- and raised their family in Andover, Massachusetts, and later in Brentwood, New Hampshire. For a time early in their marriage, their household also embraced Marty’s younger sister, Lucy.
He was a devoted and loving dad: a candlepin bowling partner, a baseball coach, a Pinewood Derby craftsman, a vocal critic of referees in games involving his children. The family’s precious memories include a summer spent traveling cross-country in a largely reliable Volkswagen van.
He was a passionate outdoorsman, a trait inherited from his father. Among his great pleasures was time spent fishing on Shin Pond in Maine and deer hunting in the woods below Mount Chocorua in New Hampshire, both annual experiences he shared with close, longtime friends.
With Marty’s untimely death in 1998, he was thrust unhappily into a new phase of life. By then retired, he embraced social groups, such as the Lions Club in Exeter, New Hampshire, and volunteered as a patient ambassador in hospitals. He took up the bagpipes, donning a kilt and rattling windows with enthusiastic performances at family gatherings and in public. One outdoor performance attracted the interest of a passerby named Patricia Uebel; their acquaintance led him to leave a card in her door inquiring as to whether he might call on her. They were married not long after in a ceremony atop Mount Monadnock.
He took great pleasure in his grandchildren, Katie, Ben, Meaghan and Leanna. Papa attended every school concert, sporting event and graduation he could, showering the foursome with stuffed animals at Christmas and love always. His ability to convey affection, pride and reassurance in a wordless hug was remarkable.
In his later years, he was afflicted with a series of cancers, but only in his final months did disease gain the upper hand. His faith deepened during this period and his spirit persisted to the last, as he befriended one nurse after another from his hospital bed in his final week of life. He will be remembered and deeply missed.
