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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Kennedy to Make Endowment in Honor of Pete Lewis
11/9/2017 | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss men's basketball team, along with the entire Ole Miss Athletics Department, lost an impactful family member Wednesday, Nov. 8 with the passing of longtime learning specialist Pete Lewis. After a battle with throat cancer and complications with pneumonia, Lewis passed away at the age of 73.
Having such a tremendous impact on Ole Miss student-athletes, Lewis' legacy and memory will live on with the help of head men's basketball coach Andy Kennedy and the rest of Rebel Nation.
"We were all deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear friend, Pete Lewis," said Kennedy. "As I have had the privilege of being the head men's basketball coach at Ole Miss for the past 11 seasons, I have the opportunity to work with many outstanding people who work tirelessly on a daily basis in an effort to support our student-athletes and give them every opportunity to be successful. No one epitomized that better than Pete. Pete poured into our players in a way that truly impacted their lives - this I know!
"With that thought, I wanted to create an endowment that would forever honor Pete in remembrance of his tremendous impact on the lives of those he served. So as of Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, we have created the Pete Lewis Memorial Scholarship Endowment in loving memory of our brother, Pete Lewis … a true Ole Miss Rebel!"
Kennedy's contribution of $25,000 will permanently endow the scholarship in Pete's name. The Lewis family is asking that, in lieu of flowers, any donations be made to the newly created Pete Lewis Memorial Scholarship Endowment by calling the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation at (662) 915-7159 or the UM Foundation at (662) 915-5944. All funeral arrangements will take place at Waller Funeral Home in Oxford. Visitation will be held Friday, Nov. 10 from 9-11 a.m., with the service to follow beginning at 11 a.m.
Lewis served as a coach, teacher and principal for 36 years in education before joining Ole Miss in the fall of 2007. He began as a mentor for student-athletes and soon after transitioned into a full-time role within the student-athlete development office. Lewis served in this position for just under a decade before retiring in May of this year to fight his battle with cancer.
A native of Drew, Mississippi, Lewis attended Delta State University where he received a B.S. in Physical Education and a M.S. degree in Secondary School Administration. He was a loving husband to Mary Lynn Bradley of Inverness, Mississippi, a father of three to Casey, Webb and Jon, and a grandfather to eight children.
"On behalf of the FedEx Student-Athlete Success Center team, we are saddened to hear of the tremendous loss of our colleague and family member, Mr. Pete Lewis," said Derek Cowherd, senior associate athletics director for student-athlete development. "Starting off as an academic mentor 10 years ago, Mr. Pete quickly became a mainstay in the FedEx Center and a student favorite. To say he was passionate about his students is an understatement. He loved working with these young men and young women and pushed them to be good, hard-working people. He was a huge supporter of his students' teams and could be found front and center cheering them on when they walked across the stage to receive their diplomas. His students knew that he loved them, and they only wanted to make him proud. Although he didn't prefer long staff meetings, we knew that he loved being around us. Words cannot express the love we have for him and his family. His wisdom, knowledge and love for this university, for its students and for this staff will forever be imprinted in all of our hearts. He will surely be missed."