Alexander Carter Lewis
August 26, 1939 – July 12, 2024
Alexander Carter Lewis, age 84, passed away July 12, 2024. A native of Street, Mississippi, he graduated from Liberty HighSchool and attended Southwest Mississippi Community College.He graduated from Millsaps College in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He attended the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson, Mississippi, and obtained hisPh.D. in microbiology in 1970 from the University of TennesseeMedical Center in Memphis. His groundbreaking research on cholera toxins was documented in the August 1969 issue of the medical journal Science.
He completed post-doctoral work at Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, before accepting a faculty position at Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans, specializing in infectious disease. He served in multiple faculty and leadership roles including professor and director of the Medical Technology, the Allied Health Auxiliaries, and the Ophthalmic Medical Technology programs, as well as the HumanDevelopment Center. He retired from LSU Health Sciences Center as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies of the School of Allied Health Professions.
After retiring, he and his wife, Bobbie Bishop Heinlen, relocated to his childhood property in Amite County, Mississippi. They were avid sailors and also traveled extensively in their motorhome. He spent his final years closer to family in Auburn, Alabama.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry L. Lewis, Jr. and Lois Carter Lewis, and his wife of 43 years Bobbie HeinlenLewis. Surviving are his brother William (Nancy) Lewis, children Perry Lewis (Tammy), Beth Lewis Smith (Drew) and Parker Lewis (Neally) and stepdaughter Stephanie Heinlen(Mark Couzens); as well as seven grandchildren, one great grandson and multiple cousins, nieces and nephews. He is also survived by the mother of his children, Nita Perry Lewis of Lockhart, Alabama. The family expresses gratitude to his devoted and loving caregivers Tara Stinson, Elaine Frazier, Geraldine Claybron and Alethea Stowe, who became like family, as well as Terri Bence, RN of Ivy Creek Hospice.
A memorial service honoring his life will be held August 17, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Unity Memorial Presbyterian Church in Liberty, Mississippi.