Mr. Peter George Lewit

February 3, 2022

Peter George Lewit of Cornwall, NY, of land and of sea, but mostly of sea, has continued on his worldly tour into the great beyond. He left port on February 3rd, 2022, coincidentally the same day as “National Optimists Day,” “National Feed the Birds Day,” and “National The Day The Music Died Day.” Peter was born in Sleepy Hollow, NY, on Halloween 1953 to George and Elizabeth “Betty” Lewit. Since that day, he has had a great love for candy, dressing up in costumes, sci-fi movies and spooky tales. He grew up in Irvington in a house that adored and cared for many animals, with a philanthropist mother who loved and took in many children, a father who played drums in a jazz band and his sister and two brothers who also shared a love for animals and community efforts. Peter earned badges, patches and medals in his Boy Scout troop and ran track and cross country for Irvington High School. It was the beginning of a lifetime of great achievements and imaginative adventures. One of the most handsome, tall men in uniform, Peter was a Veteran of the Coast Guard from 1973-1977, based at Governor’s Island, NY, traveling to Belgium, France, Spain and the Madeira Islands. He went through the Panama Canal, crossed the equator near the Galapagos and became, as the sailors say, a “Shellback.” His love of the sea was only just beginning. Peter was a graduate of Westchester Community College where his peers likely realized they were attending class with a genius. A rare and unique individual, he had a deep love for science and math, history and literature and was also a musician, an athlete and an artist. He loved to explain the origins of math from the Mesopotamians and Egyptians and the Pythagoreans and Greeks and gently serenade whoever was present on his acoustic guitar. Peter served on the volunteer Ambulance Corps in Irvington and then got a job at Vernon Graphics, a digital mapping company, which planted the seed for his interests in cartography. In the 80s, Peter met Nancy Rowell and her daughter, Christina, who would soon be his also. Peter explained of their first meeting, “I just knew,” and referenced an Anne Philipe poem titled “Together, We are a Mystery.” They were married on May 23rd 1981 at Church of the Transfiguration in Tarrytown NY and nine months later, their daughter, Marjorie, was born. They moved to Cornwall, NY and had their daughter, Susanna, in 1983. Peter sketched and painted, cooked elaborate meals, wrote his wife poetry and taught all three daughters how to make a Halloween costume from almost anything, how to swing a bat and catch a ball, how to tie a proper knot, how to drive a stick shift up a steep hill, and where to find due north. Peter’s career at Vernon Graphics ended in 1987 after 9 years and he played “Mr. Mom” for a few years. He insisted his daughters know how to read a map, to enjoy all the black and white “pictures” he grew up on, appreciate classical music and get to know all the greatest Jazz musicians. And they did. “Smooth, real smooth Jazz. Now that’s boss!” he would say. On any given day, Peter would be caught daydreaming, seeing shapes in the clouds, telling stories or sketching. Each of his daughters owes much of their artistic abilities and writing to his infectious passion for life and romanticism. You can see his work hanging in the museum of the Lewit house on Hazen St. One of Peter’s proudest achievements was his 30 years of Federal service. In 1990, he joined NOAA as a Senior Survey Technician. He boarded and decommissioned several ships, his last ship being the Thomas Jefferson. As Herman Melville said in Moby Dick, “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.” Peter’s laugh was big, uninhibited and he was always making someone smile, always finding the humor. He made so many great friends who got to revel in his stories, his jokes, his onboard church services and Easter Sunday celebrations. He wore tin hats to “help with space weather” and often mused aloud to the entire room about impossible things, saying “I don’t get it!” However, not long after, you would delight in Pete’s “eureka” moments, hearing him exclaim “ah HA!” As his shipmates would recount, he joyfully and relentlessly pursued survey precision and had an uncanny passion for science. With NOAA, Peter traveled through the Persian Gulf, visiting oil spills and sailing all the way to Al Jubail, Abu Dali, and Kuwait. He picked up Arabic dictionaries, learned what he could about each place he visited, their cultures and traditions. For his efforts in the Middle East, he and the crew received the Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal for Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield. His work with NOAA continued to take him all around the world to Darwin, Australia, Samoa and Hawaii, the Gulf of Mexico, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico, all while sending his family handwritten letters and trinkets from his worldly adventures. He worked with sonar technology, making maps of the ocean floor and finally closed in on his long career at the Deep Water Horizon Spill sight. During Pete’s tour, he was part of more search and rescue missions than his time in the Coast Guard. Among them were locating Egypt Air 990 and JFK Jr.’s downed private plane. He retired in 2016 as Chief Hydrographic Survey Technician for NOAA. After retirement, Peter was relieved to be home in NY with his wife and family. Working was a great joy to him, but he adored his wife Nancy and was always trying to get back to her. He had often spoken of just wanting the simple things in life: Sitting in his kitchen with his love, looking out the window and watching the birds, the trees, the backyard he worked so lovingly on and having good conversation. Finally home, he took some trips with Nancy to Los Angeles and Sonoma, Rhode Island, Georgia and Ohio and spent some time down in NYC whenever he could. He loved to drive and he loved to travel. Peter joined the USPress Association as a freelancer. Research on topics of the day took up the rest of his time. He fixed up the house, played with his ham radios, wrote in his many little notebooks, barbecued and played his guitar. He was an avid supporter of social justice and human rights, well-read on Martin Luther King Jr., and a deeply religious man who could pull out a bible verse for almost any occasion. Every 4th of July, he could be found playing guitar side by side with his brother-in-law, David. His last 4th of July on this earth, he sang to Nancy, “This Happy Madness” by Antônio Carlos Jobim. Later, he stared into the sky, listening to Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, watching the fireworks with emotion and tears in his eyes, with hope and determination for a better country, a better world, in his heart. Known by his friends at NOAA as “Pete,” he is missed by many, but survived by his loving wife of almost 41 years, Nancy Rowell Lewit, his three daughters Christina Rowell Lewit, Marjorie Lewit and Susanna Lewit, and his granddaughter Madalyn. He is also survived by his sister Ellen Lewit and brothers James Lewit and Andrew Lewit as well as extended family, nieces and nephews, cousins and numerous brother- and sister-in-laws. Everyone who remembers Peter is asked to celebrate his life in their own way: raising a glass of their favorite drink in his memory, adopting a dog or sewing the hole in that old pair of socks you almost threw away. Peter never wasted a single thing or a single day on this earth. Signing out, 73s from KC2UQF (Peter’s call sign) ARRANGEMENTS: Life Celebration will take place on Sunday, February 13th from 3pm-7pm at Edwards-Dowdle Funeral Home and a Catholic Mass will be held on Monday, February 14th at 10:30am at Church of the Transfiguration in Tarrytown. All are welcome.