Phillip J. (Duffy) Lewis, BHS 1929

Phillip J. (Duffy) Lewis, BHS 1929

Phillip J. (Duffy) Lewis; Longtime Coach

November 05, 1992, Los Angeles Times

Phillip J. (Duffy) Lewis, longtime coach in Burbank and Pasadena, has died at his La Crescenta home. He was 81. Lewis died Monday of heart failure, said his son, James M. Lewis of La Crescenta.

Born in Fort William, Canada, in the province of Ontario, Lewis came to the United States at the age of 12 and graduated from Burbank High School. As a young athletic star, he received an associate in arts degree from Glendale City College and earned a bachelor's degree from Occidental College in 1936. Lewis was head football and track coach at Montebello High School for five years, followed by seven years as head football coach at Burbank High School.

He later coached at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks and Cathedral High School in Los Angeles. In 1955, he established the athletic and physical education programs at the newly opened La Salle High School in Pasadena. There, he coached basketball, baseball and track and in 1975 coached a women's football team called the Pasadena Roses. After his retirement in 1978, he served as a consultant to La Salle High and established a Hall of Fame for its athletes.

In the 1980s, the high school's gymnasium was named after Lewis, and in 1984 he was among 14 prep athletic leaders in the Southland to be named to the first CIF-Southern Section Hall of Fame.

During the 1940s, Lewis served on the city's Parks and Recreation Commission for six years.
In addition to his son James, Lewis is survived by his wife of 54 years, Alice E. Lewis; son Larry A. Lewis of La Crescenta; brother Albert A. Lewis of San Diego; sister Evelyn Almstead of Hemet; three grandsons, and one great-grandson.

A funeral, with burial to follow, is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today at the Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 1712 S. Glendale Ave. in Glendale. Kiefer & Eyerick Mortuary in Glendale is handling the arrangements. Donations can be made in Lewis' name to St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation.