Lewis O. Myers

Lewis O. Myers, 93, of Arvada, Colorado, went home to the Lord on September 26, 2024, following a brief struggle with cancer.

Lewis was born on February 14, 1931, in rural Altoona, Kansas to Leonard and Velma (Harris) Myers. He grew up on the family farm, attending a one-room school up the hill from his home. He remembered helping one of his uncles on a neighboring farm, and enjoying apples from their trees on his way there, as well as honing his yodeling skills while driving the tractor, where only he and the wind could hear him practice.

After high school, Lewis enlisted in the Kansas Army National Guard and his unit was soon sent by train to Fort Lewis in Washington State for training. Many units there being deployed to the Korean Conflict during that time. His unit practiced using logarithms in firing Howitzer cannons while waiting for their orders to deploy to Korea. However, before his unit was deployed to Korea, the conflict ended, and he returned to Kansas.

Lewis spent some time working in a munitions plant in Wichita until he decided to attend Philips University in Oklahoma for a brief time. He then felt the guidance of God and decided to attend Manhattan Christian College in Manhattan, Kansas. It was there that he met the love of his life, Dolores Dirks, and they wed on December 18, 1955. Lewis completed his bachelor’s degree in education from Kansas State University, while also completing a Pastoral Ministries degree from Manhattan Christian College. Together, they felt called to serve at a mission in Korea, where Lewis would teach. The mission, however, failed, and Lewis and Dolores were uncertain of their next steps in life.

But God intervened and sent a recruiter for Jefferson County, Colorado schools to a job fair, and Lewis signed up to begin teaching in Evergreen, Colorado. After some time there, Lewis then taught both 5th and 6th grades at Prospect Valley Elementary School in Wheat Ridge for over 30 years, impacting students’ lives every year.

During their years in Colorado, four children were born of their union - Susan, Bryan, Carolyn, and Sharon. They established their home in Arvada.

Lewis’ father-in-law and brothers-in-law owned and operated a dairy farm in Longmont. Because of his position as a teacher, that afforded the opportunity for him and his family to be “city folk” during the school year and “farm folk” every summer, where he could yodel while driving tractors in the field, and his children could play (and sometimes work) on the farm, enjoying the best of both worlds.

Lewis and Dolores’ love for the Lord led them to do supply preaching at various congregations in Colorado, as well as working with new churches in the Restoration Movement. They would load up the kids and hit the road many Sundays, heading for Florence, Elbert, Fort Morgan, Fort Collins, and a few other churches. This was done while remaining active members of Arvada Christian Church for many years, and later Northglenn Christian Church. Many lifelong friendships were formed during these years, both for Lewis and Dolores, as well as their children.

Following his retirement from teaching in 1990, Lewis and Dolores developed other interests, including world travel, which was enabled by their daughter, Carolyn’s, career as a flight attendant. Their love of antiques grew as well, as they attended many auctions, buying quite a mix of antiques, vintage items, and collectibles. Lewis had a great appreciation for rusty farm tools, and he even ventured into making wall art with barn wood and some of those rusty old tools. To sell their wares bought at auctions, they often had booths at antique fairs in Colorado and Wyoming, as well as a booth at the Arvada Antique Emporium, making friends everywhere they went.

Lewis knew that his strength was from God. He would rise early in the morning, shave, vacate the bathroom, and go into the basement, sit at his desk, and have some quiet time with Jesus before facing the day (and two of his teenage daughters fighting over the bathroom). As his grandchildren began to arrive, the time at that desk included them sitting on his lap and asking questions, having fun with vintage toys, and just enjoying each other’s company.

The home that Lewis and Dolores built was one of love and fun mixed with discipline, and most importantly, honoring God. Lewis was friendly with everyone he met and tried to brighten their day, making cheerful conversation. He hadn’t always been outgoing. The man who once hid in a janitorial closet to avoid making a speech in school allowed God to work in his life, as he overcame any fear of public speaking, and he pursued his career in teaching and preaching. He always had a great love for reading and history.

Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Dolores, daughter Susan (Robert) Huston of Longmont, Colorado, son Bryan (Diane) Myers of Colorado Springs, Colorado, daughter Carolyn (Jim) Campaney of Arvada, Colorado, daughter Sharon (Scott) Hall of Lovell, Wyoming, sister-in-law Shelda Myers, of Independence, Kansas, brother-in-law Otis Babcock of Iola, Kansas, sister-in-law Marcia Myers of Atlanta, Georgia, thirteen grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and some great neighbors.

He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, Lyle, Jack and John Myers, and two sisters, Shirley Walker and Virginia Babcock.

A memorial service will be held on November 8th at 2:00 PM at Northglenn Christian Church, 1800 E 105th Pl, Northglenn, CO 80233