Obituaries

Nash Holyfield Lewis was born to Mary Orabelle (Vanzant) Lewis and William B Lewis, Sr., in Clarksburg, West Virginia on July 21, 1963. The ninth of nine children, Nash lit up the world from that day forward. While that light dimmed with his peaceful departure from this world on Sunday, November 2, 2025, at the age of 62, his legacy will long live on in the hearts of anyone fortunate enough to have made his acquaintance.

He is greeted on the other side by those who preceded him in death; his mother and father; his brother, Thomas (Tommy) Alvin Lewis; brothers Mark and Luke, who died at birth; and his beloved aunt and uncle, Clara (Vanzant) and Nash Holyfield, who raised him following the death of his parents.

Left mourning on this side of the veil are those surviving this immense loss: brother Joseph and his wife Susan Lewis, of Lake Jackson, TX; brother William and his wife Joyce Lewis, of Lake Jackson, TX; brother Maurice and his wife Amy Lewis, of Augusta, GA; brother George Lewis of Santa Fe, NM; and his dearest sister and best friend, Mary (Lewis) Jessie of Katy, TX.

Nash was a proud and legendary uncle, as his nieces and nephews would gladly attest, and none would be the same without his influence. He is survived by his prank-nemesis nephew, Lance Oden (wife, Remi, and children Yorick, Lorcan, Luke, Cailani, Liam, and Langston, of Eureka, CA; his loving niece Cara (Lewis) Ham (husband, Dwayne, and children Tori and Will) of Plano, TX; adoring niece Jessika Lewis (daughter, Maniyah Dulin) of Pinella Park, FL; doting niece Stephanie (Lewis) DeWitt (husband, Jeremy, and daughter, Elizabeth) of Memphis, TN; well-meaningly overbearing niece Alex (Lewis) Watson (daughter, Owynn), of Oklahoma City, OK; and nephew / best buddy, Sean Johnson of Augusta, GA.

If you were one of the lucky few to have spent time with Nash, you know him as an absolute character. Well-known in Fairmont, West Virginia, where he moved in 1986 (becoming a core member of the Bill-Joyce-Cara-Alex section of Lewises), he was a fixture at Morningside Baptist Church where his singing could be heard by everyone, though no one could quite predict the syllables or notes he might project. He later sang with fervor at Heritage and Lake Jackson churches of Christ when the family moved to Texas. He was often seen directing traffic, a job for which he was self-appointed and self-trained, on his way home from the Op Shop in WV where he happily spent his days and on his later walks in Lake Jackson. It was at church in Texas that Nash met his dear friend and minister, Allen Ritchie, who could have been the influence for Nash’s patio preaching. His last sermon on the patio was one of love. His words — “Don’t cry! God loves you. Jesus loves you! I love you! Don’t cry!”

Moving to Rowlett, TX, in 1999 and ultimately to Lake Jackson, TX, in 2002, Nash was sure to make friends everywhere he went. He would tell everyone he met (and he would meet a lot of people) how lucky he was to be himself and how glad he was to be surrounded by people he loved. “I have a big family. I’m a lucky guy. I’m happy you’re here.”

Nash attended Forgotten Angels Day Hab with his many friends — Jarrett, Rusty, Michael, Carlos, Ryan, Brian, Melissa, Roy, Randal, and Spencer. He loved his Boss Sherri Hall, his nurse Tricia Marshall, and his supervisor Maggie Quiroa.

He’d talk about all the things he loved best: his big family, bowling, wrestling (he had a particular fondness for John Cena), and God. A fierce appetite for both life and food, he declared his beloved sister-in-law, Joyce, a “good cook-chef” at every opportunity. He enjoyed almost everything put before him save liver and onions (he would eat some and declare it good before vehemently refusing seconds) and chitlins (he would pack both his and his sister’s bags to run away rather than be forced to eat it).

He said yes. To (almost) everything. He was the first on the dance floor at any occasion, particularly if you’d play Michael Jackson. He’d join any card game, particularly Go Fish and War. He was the reluctant co-star to many of his nieces’ holiday productions. (For those wondering, he was not completely convincing as a grown-man version of baby Jesus at Christmas, but he played a downright admirable and nuanced boat at Thanksgiving.)

He will be talked about for generations to come and greatly missed each and every day. If you have ever been lucky enough to be his friend or part of his big, big family, take a moment to smile and say, “he was a lucky guy; we’re so happy he was here.”

For those able to join us, a visitation will be held near his Lake Jackson home at Restwood Funeral Home in Clute, TX, on Saturday, November 8 from 12:30 to 4:00. A visitation for those in his home among the hills will take place at Amos Carvelli Funeral Home, 201 Edison Street, Nutter Fort, WV, on Saturday, November 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with burial immediately following at Stonewall Park Cemetery in Stonewood, WV.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Nash’s name be made to WV Special Olympics https://support.specialolympics.org/a/west-virginia?fbclid=IwdGRjcAN6z_9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeFdh486BRe-tK5O2riD9cSAx434b0Tbans5hxyC0m_OYVKvZke8BuMfPMIQg_aem_glOizHQw2-zMkTKDDzoSvg