Lewis, Norman 1912-2006

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born December 30, 1912, in New York, NY; died September 8, 2006, in Whittier, CA. Lewis was a longtime English professor at Rio Hondo College in California, but was best known for his books on vocabulary building, especially Thirty Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary (1945; revised edition, 2003). Despite his accomplishments in the educational field, as a young man Lewis was a poor student who dropped out of college several times before completing a master's degree from Columbia University. On the other hand, Lewis was an avid writer, even as a boy. He published an article in the New York Telegram when he was only eleven years old, and was selling short articles to magazines while in college. His first book, Journeys through Wordland, was a children's nonfiction title released in 1941. That same year, he published Lessons in Vocabulary and Spelling (1941). Lewis's academic career began in 1942 at what is now City College of the City University of New York. He was an instructor and lecturer there for ten years, while contributing to magazines such as Your Life and continuing to publish books. Among his other early titles are How to Read Better and Faster (1944; 4th edition, 1978), How to Speak Better English (1948), and Twenty Days to Better Spelling (1953). Thirty Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary, written with publisher Wilfred John Funk, would remain his bestselling book, however. Lewis joined New York University faculty in 1957, becoming adjunct associate professor of English in 1963. He later moved to California, where he was hired as a professor of English at Rio Hondo College in 1964. He headed the communications department from 1964 to 1975 and led the same department at a community college in Whittier. Lewis retired in 1995. Among his many other vocabulary-, writing-, and reading-improvement books are Correct Spelling Made Easy (1963), Instant Speller Power (1976), the three-volume RSVP with Etymology (1980-82), and The New American Dictionary of Good English: An A-Z Guide to Grammar and Correct Usage (1987). Lewis also edited the popular The New Roget's Thesaurus of the English Language in Dictionary Form (1961; revised and updated edition, 1978).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, October 1, 2006, section 4, p. 6.

Los Angeles Times, September 26, 2006, p. B11.

New York Times, October 1, 2006, p. A27.

Washington Post, October 2, 2006, p. B7.