Lewis Mengle

Lew Mengle Memories

I met Lew around 1980, when he had recently moved down to Martinez, and I was married to my first husband, Chris Wilson. A few months after we met Lew, Chris became ill, and along with a number of other people we knew at the time, Lew was very kind and supportive to us. He became part of our extended family, and began to share Christmas dinners with us, and we saw him often.

Chris died in 1982

Lew Mengle Memories

I met Lew around 1980, when he had recently moved down to Martinez, and I was married to my first husband, Chris Wilson. A few months after we met Lew, Chris became ill, and along with a number of other people we knew at the time, Lew was very kind and supportive to us. He became part of our extended family, and began to share Christmas dinners with us, and we saw him often.

Chris died in 1982 of a rare illness, when I was just 30 years old, but Lew and I have stayed friends all these years. We have gone camping together, gone for walks, hung around with each other, shared many meals and lots of laughs. We have done some grieving together, too, when Chris, and then other mutual friends have died. And we have had many long talks about every subject you could think of. He was always reading, and interested in what I was reading, so books were a favorite topic. Lew loved to flirt, especially with waitresses, and I enjoyed all the fun he had doing so. he loved people, and knew how to connect with everyone he met.

I remember a time, must have been around 1984, when I had been running for exercise, and we decided to go for a jog together around Lafayette Reservoir. We got out there and started, and he found he could not run slowly enough for me to keep up, so he would jog off like a big bounding hound, then stop awhile and wait for me to catch up, then go off ahead again. We kept that up for two and a half miles. After that, we went back to hiking.

I married Curt Covey in 1990, and Lew was there for our wedding and shared our happiness. He became my daughter's Uncle Lewie. Though he was sometimes surprised by the unreasonableness of children, he did find them quite fascinating. One spring, we camped at The Pinnacles, in Central California, with Lauren, age two or so. Somewhere I think I have a picture of them side by side in camp chairs, he with a can of beer, she with a sippie cup of juice. They were both reading, I think. Later on

Lew was the greatest. We will miss him. He was a very special person and we loved him.