Jeremy Lewis and the Sign

In the summer of 2000, I was in Dallas finishing up a great week of music and worship with the Baptist All-State Choir and Band when I received a call from my wife that one of my Howard Payne University Band students had been killed in a tragic automobile accident. I spent that evening in tears of sorrow as I reflected on the short but meaningful life of Jeremy. He was a fine 20 year old music major who played the piano, euphonium, and was engaged to be married. A class act in character and in appearance, Jeremy enjoyed a rather theatrical but pleasant approach to life, with styled hair, sharp clothes, and a warm personal presentation. The semester prior to his death, he and I had driven together to his home town band rehearsal and enjoyed visiting about band, church, and life in general.

His funeral was difficult, as all funerals are, and I among many others sang, played, and honored the memory of our friend. Subsequent weeks of honoring included endowing a scholarship in his memory, writing a piece of music for band which was later published, dedicating a concert to his memory, placing photos and a poem in the band hall, and making another trip to the cemetery to pay my respects. About this time, we had been working to have a more permanent marching band tower that would be safe (our old tower was a falling apart scaffolding), and provide a necessary platform for teaching. It seemed logical and right to call the tower the Jeremy Lewis Memorial Band Tower. Much of the money for the tower came from the two organizations, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.

I approved of the sign and saw the proposed wording on a piece of paper. Much to my surprise, however, the sign was enormous, almost ostentatious, and covered the width of the tower with lettering equal to the size of the Howard Payne University sign. At the time and in the years that followed, my emotions ran counter to my logic. I was thankful and continue to be thankful that Jeremy's life made a major impact on so many including myself, and the sign was another way to honor his memory. And yet, it was the life of Jeremy that was not diaphanous and all the signs in the world cannot supplant or even supplement his remarkable contributions and his significance to all who had crossed his path. A sign is only a material object, not a person.

Two recent events led me to remove the sign which was not done in any kind of "cowardly" fashion but rather was done in the middle of the day. One was the tragic death of Shane Ewen, another Kappa Kappa Psi brother from an earlier generation who deserves to be honored in some way, and the second was the acceptance that our band tower was and is unnecessarily high considering the size of the band. In addition, with the upcoming construction on Mims, it seemed a good time to consider selling the tower, replacing it with a smaller, mobile one, and placing upon it a smaller, commemorative Jeremy Lewis sign. Further refection made me realize that all our lives have meaning and it is time to find a way to acknowledge other music and band alums who have passed away.

So with a conflict of emotions, I removed the sign hoping my Kappa Kappa Psi brothers would accept and understand that the time had come for a change. My own son, Jacob, helped considerably with a supportive email he sent to the brothers of the fraternity. Rather than expend our emotions in anger over the sign, I would prefer, and I believe, so would the family, that those who wish to honor Jeremy's memory, consider giving money to the Jeremy Lewis Scholarship. I can think of no better way to keep Jeremy's memory alive than to perpetuate his life through future lives of music students.

If you feel a need to disagree or agree, please contact me directly or you may respond to this letter. This has not been an easy decision for me, but after much prayer and thought, I felt it was time. I mostly welcome your ideas on how we can honor the passing of other band and music alumni. I am considering a plaque for the display case in the music building, or perhaps a memorial on the side of the building, or maybe even a walkway. Please let me know your thoughts.