Virgil D. "Sam" Lewis

Virgil D. "Sam" Lewis November 4, 1940 - January 26, 2022, Bluffton, South Carolina - Virgil DeSelm "Sam" Lewis, Jr., beloved family member, and avid golfer, died peacefully Wednesday, January 26, 2022, at his home in Bluffton, South Carolina.

A lifelong golfer who loved to play the game with others, Sam was born to Virgil and Annabelle Lewis in 1940 in East Bank, West Virginia. He joined the United States Marine Corps after high school and later graduated from Kent State University where he met his wife of more than 50 years, Marlene. It was Marlene who told Sam to switch majors to marketing because of his easy-going, open personality.

It was a good decision. After college, Sam began as a salesperson for Ashland Chemical in 1963 and would go on to devote his entire 40-year career to Ashland and the energy industries. Before his retirement in 2003, Sam served as Vice President of Domestic Metallurgical Exports for Arch Coal. He helped oversee the large expansion of the company's customer base and a nearly six-fold increase in export sales to Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and Europe.

In their later years, Sam and Marlene moved from Worthington, Ohio to Bluffton, South Carolina to enjoy family, friends, and golf. Sam generously taught generations of his family and others the game he loved. He also donated more than 30 sets of golf clubs to youth golfers over the years. In addition to Marlene, Sam is mourned by his three children, Jan, Mark, Jill, and their spouses, along with six loving grandchildren in order of birth, Samuel, Andrew, Jackson, Katelyn, Sara, and Molly.

Sam died peacefully, after a brief illness with cancer, surrounded by his family and his devoted little "Skipper," the long-haired Chihuahua who never left his side. Sam will be dearly missed by all for his many gifts, including his effortless way of making anyone he met feel welcome and appreciated.

A memorial service will be hosted on Monday, January 31, 2022, at 5:00 PM at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Road, Bluffton, South Carolina. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Sam's honor to hospice care organizations.