Dr. Sherwood Lewis recalls his most wonderful times as a youth were spent camping with Boy Scout Troop 3 Derby at Camp Irving on the Housatonic River and at Camp Workcoeman, in New Hartford, where he eventually served on summer camp staff.
Although more than 60 years have passed, these memories of camping and the dedicated scouting leaders like Rodman Kneen and the late Ed Strang and Walter Petz have been the driving force to continue his involvement and support of Boy Scout Troop 3.
Troop 3 is honoring Dr. Lewis at their 100th anniversary celebration on October 26, with the “3 for Life” Award, a special honor reserved for alumni who excel in their field and have had a lifelong commitment to Scouting.
Rodman Kneen, Sr. of Shelton, his 91 year old former leader who is still active with the troop, will present the award.
After becoming Troop 3’s 27th Eagle Scout in 1948, and graduating from Derby public schools, Dr. Lewis received a B.A. degree with honors and an M.S. degree in microbiology from the University of Connecticut. He subsequently earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Brandeis University. During 1963 – 1964 he was a senior scientist in the Space and Life Systems Division of United Technologies Corporation.
This was followed by a thirty year career as Director of Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, CT.
Upon retiring from St. Francis he embarked upon a different career, becoming Director of Toxicology at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of Connecticut in Farmington, CT.
Although now officially retired, Dr. Lewis has continuously held academic appointments at the University of Connecticut Health Center.
He was a Visiting Professor at Trinity College, Hartford, CT and at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Africa (in part this opportunity to teach in Sierra Leone came about because he had been awarded the 1990 International Travel Award by the Association for Clinical Chemistry).
Dr. Lewis continually shares his knowledge and interests with others outside of his own laboratories and institutions.
He has served on various panels and committees, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to the Connecticut State Department of Health Services and Department of Higher Education.
He uses these opportunities to promote the best of clinical chemistry for the betterment of people’s lives.
Dr. Lewis and his wife Gwendolyn reside in Bloomfield.
“We are indeed thrilled to be able to honor Sherwood with the 3 for Life Award,” stated John Anglace, a Troop 3 Committeeman and the 100th anniversary dinner chairman. “As a contemporary of Sherwood’s, I cannot think of a more deserving recipient for all he has done in participating in Troop 3 functions and helping send deserving scouts to the Edmund D. Strang Scout Reservation each Summer,” Anglace said.
Reservations for Oct. 26 dinner at the Inn at Villa Bianca in Seymour, can be made by calling Raymond Oppel at 203 – 929-6616 (daytime) or 203 – 929-7210 (evenings), or by email, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
