John Lewellen, of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Sept. 13, 1950 — June 9, 2017
Niles Daily Star, Published 10:26 am Friday, June 30, 2017
John Andrew “Captain John” Lewellen, 66, of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, passed away Friday, June 9, 2017, at Hilton Head Hospital.
John was born Sept. 13, 1950, in Niles, to James H. and Florence Ranft Lewellen.
He attended elementary school at St. Mary’s Catholic School and graduated from Niles High School in 1968. He earned his Michigan captain’s license in 1975 while living in Michigan. He worked in property management with Harbourside III during his years on Hilton Head Island.
He loved fishing and being near the water, before and after moving to Hilton Head Island in 1979. He lived near the Atlantic Ocean and the beach for almost all of his years at Hilton Head Island. The fisherman’s adage, “any day on the water is a good day,” epitomized John perfectly. He knew many, many people and had many friends on Hilton Head Island. He was uniquely talented at bringing people together. Once a person became a friend of John, he or she would soon have many friends that were met through John.
John is survived by his brothers, Jim L. (Laura) Lewellen of Niles and Jerry E. (Charona) Lewellen of Medina, Ohio; his uncle, Captain Robert L. (Jane) Lewellen, USN (Ret.) of Contoocook, New Hampshire; his nephews, Jim S. (Tamee) Lewellen of Niles, J.A. (Melissa) Lewellen of Medina; nieces Laura (Kerry) Payne of Niles, Rachel C. Lewellen of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Kathryn (Jeffrey) Lewellen of Cary, North Carolina; and great-nieces and great-nephews Adam Payne and Aaron Payne of Niles, Abby Payne of Grand Rapids, Alex Lewellen of Austin, Texas, and Chris Lewellen of Lemont, Illinois.
Friends of John are invited to a celebration of life at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 1, 2017, on the beach at the end of the Firethorn Lane beach-walk on South Forest Beach. There, John’s ashes will be committed to the Atlantic Ocean that he loved so much.