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By Lynn Hotaling
and Carey Phillips
TC Lewis
Former Sylva Mayor T.C. Lewis died Thursday at
Mission Hospitals in Asheville. He was 74.
Elected first in 1977, Lewis served three full terms as mayor.
He was chosen in 1989 to serve a fourth term but resigned one
year later.
Lewis was elected chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners
in 1994. He was the only Democrat to win a seat on the board,
which was expanded to five members for the first time that year.
After two years as commissioners' chairman and full-time county
manager, Lewis called it quits, citing a feeling of being "less
effective."
"It seems like it got to be more of a one-sided situation.
I had less control over everyday operations than I thought I should
have, being manager," Lewis told The Herald in November 1996.
Dan Robinson of Cullowhee, who was chosen by the Democrat Party
to complete Lewis' term, remembered Lewis with affection.
"The way I'll always remember T.C. is someone who was very
kind and considerate. I never knew him not to be," said Robinson,
who served two terms in the N.C. Senate after his stint in county
government.
"T.C. set a good example in his everyday life and in his
public life, and I had the highest regard for him," Robinson
said.
Others paying tribute to Lewis were longtime Sylva town board
member Audrey Tritt and Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver.
"T.C. Lewis was a good ambassador for Sylva; he was firm,
yet tactful, when having to deal with controversial issues,"
Tritt said.
"T.C. was a good friend to the people of Sylva," Oliver
said. "Under his leadership the town replaced a lot of infrastrtucture
and renovated the old fire department into the present City Hall.
Harrell Hooper, who served as town clerk during most of Lewis'
tenure as mayor, remembered him as a people person.
"He was always concerned about any problems that involved
services the town was responsible for providing," Hooper
said. "He was particularly concerned about the water quality
and sewer service."
Lewis also had a keen interest regarding the Sylva Fire Department,
of which he was a member, Hooper said.
He said Lewis was especially proud of the town acquiring a $2
million UDAG grant, which led to Jackson Paper beginning operations
in the old Mead plant.
"That impacted not only the town but the county as well,"
Hooper said.
"T.C. liked to move things forward. He did a lot of positive
things," said Sylva town clerk Tommy Thompson, who succeeded
Hooper as clerk during Lewis' last term as mayor.
During Lewis' Monday funeral at First Baptist Church, the Revs.
Ray McCall and John Bunn described Lewis as a man of honor who
cared about his family and his community.
"When I think of T., I think of the oath I took when I was
about 12: 'On my honor, I will try, to do my best to do my duty
of God and my country...,'" Bunn said.
"T.C. was the kind of fellow who wouldn't argue - he wouldn't
have a short word," McCall said. "He was a great friend
who touched a lot of lives."
A successful businessman, Lewis owned first Lewis Esso and then
Lewis Oil. He was a retired member of the Sylva Fire Department
and president of the Jackson Savings Bank Board of Directors.
He was a member of Webster Baptist Church.
The son of the late Ernest Lewis, T.C. Lewis is survived by his
wife, Oberia; his mother, Edna Lewis of Dillsboro; and one son,
Tim Lewis, of Sylva. Another son, Mike, died in 1994.
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