Published Wednesday, July 20, 2016

J.W. “Jay” Lewis Jr., 65, of Columbia passed away Sunday, July 17, 2016 at Boone Hospital.

A celebration of life will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 23, at Shakespeare’s Pizza South, 3911 Peachtree Drive, Columbia, Mo.

Jay was born on May 17, 1951, in Boone County, the son of J.W. and Ruth (Page) Lewis who preceded him in death. Jay married the love of his life, Nancy Benson, on March 11, 1973. To this union, one daughter, Alycia, was born.

With Nancy by his side, in 1976, Jay took a chance on a restaurant and brought to life Shakespeare’s Pizza. They have been fortunate to watch the business grow and flourish for 40 years into the Boone County landmark that it is today. For Jay, it was never about him, it was always about good pizza and great employees.

Having played on the golf team at Hickman, one of Jay’s favorite pastimes was watching PGA Tour events with Alycia. The family has a cabin where they would escape to relax, fish and watch football on the weekends. He also enjoyed collecting cars — his most recent purchase, a 1965 Corvette.

Jay liked to keep things simple, but his love for history and reading always kept him learning. While Nancy and Alycia often convinced him to travel to museums and monuments, he was his happiest while spending time at home in Boone County.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Jay is survived by his sister, Dee Lantzy (Walt); one sister-in-law, Carol Benson (Bob Shields); one nephew, Seth Turner (Ariana); three nieces, Erin Turner-Lantzy (Sandra Wojciehowski), Gabrielle Larson (Gaige) and Nikki Harrison; and great-nieces and nephews: Graham, Belén, Heath and Bensynn, as well as many friends and the entire Shakespeare’s Pizza family.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Columbia Golf Foundation or the American Diabetes Association, c/o Memorial Funeral Home, 1217 Bus. Loop 70 W., Columbia, Mo., 65202.

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Jay, Alycia and Nancy Lewis pose for family photos in December 2007.

• Courtesy of the Lewis family

Mike Houlihan and Jay Lewis, owners of Shakespeare's Pizza, are shown removing the last signs of the Campus Edge restaurant at Ninth and Elm streets. They acquired the restaurant in 1976 and expanded Shakespeare's, located next door, into a sit-down pizza parlor, complete with beer on tap and salad bar.

COLUMBIA — Whenever people met J.W. "Jay" Lewis Jr., he would seem very intimidating. But once they got to know the Shakespeare's Pizza owner, they would find he was witty, generous and caring.

He died Sunday, July 17, 2016. He was 65 years old. Lewis was born on May 17, 1951, in Boone County.

Lewis graduated from Hickman High School in 1969. He met the love of his life in class when he was 16 years old. On March 11, 1973, Lewis and Nancy Benson, also a Hickman graduate, got married. Although he loved collecting old cars, his daughter said he sold his 1965 MG, a British sports car, to purchase an engagement ring for Nancy.

“He had a really good sense of humor," Nancy Lewis said. "He was very witty. He was very generous.”

One night, Jay Lewis and his wife stopped by Shakespeare's Pizza to get a bite to eat, and they heard the owner was selling the place. So in 1976, Lewis bought the restaurant. His wife said he "needed a job and something to do," which is why they decided to buy it. 

In 2004 and 2012, two new Shakespeare's locations opened in Columbia. In 2015, Lewis announced that the iconic downtown location on Ninth and Elm streets would be temporarily demolished to make room for student housing.

Jay Lewis had a passion for reading and history. Alycia Lewis, his daugher, said her father loved learning about the Civil War, the American Revolutionary War and presidential history. When the Lewis family would go on vacation, they would always make an effort to visit different museums.

“Whenever we used to go to the beach, we would never just go to the beach,” Alycia Lewis said. “He always wanted us to go somewhere and learn something."

When Alycia Lewis was 4 years old, she remembers making early-morning trips to Shakespeare’s with her dad at 5 a.m. to pick up money earned the night before. She would collect change on the floor of Shakespeare’s and use the money to play video games. Now, Alycia works at the Shakespeare’s location in south Columbia. She said she learned the ins and outs of running a business from her dad.

“He always welcomed everyone's input and would treat everything as a family decision,” she said. “And that was really important to me to see him do those things. ... I know how much he loved it. I think just being able to be part of it will always make me feel close to him.”

Bryan Simmons, the general manager at the Shakespeare’s in south Columbia, has worked for the company for 17 years. He said it was a relief to work for Lewis because he would always let him try new things.

When Simmons and Jay Lewis first met, Lewis wore tinted sunglasses, so Simmons never knew if he was looking at him or somewhere else. They initially wouldn't talk much, but over the years they formed a stronger relationship. Lewis would jokingly stick out his middle finger at Simmons when he wasn't looking, and when Simmons did look, Lewis would laugh.

"I guess he was just telling me that I was the No. 1 guy," Simmons said with a laugh.

Despite the joking and sarcasm, Simmons says Lewis deeply cared about his employees, and that he learned how to treat his own employees from Lewis.

Kurt Mirtsching, the supervising manager of all three Shakespeare's locations, has worked alongside Lewis for 38 years. He said that thanks to the warm environment Lewis created, Shakespeare's employees would stay with the company longer than other pizza restaurants — 3.5 years, he said.

Next month marks downtown Shakespeare's Manager Toby Epstein's 11th year working for Shakespeare's. 

"He used to say, 'I'll give you a lot of freedom, but with freedom comes a lot of responsibilities,'" Epstein said.

He is survived by his wife Nancy; daughter Alycia; and many nieces and nephews.

His parents, J.W. and Ruth Lewis, died earlier.