Captain Wilfred Lewis served as a supply officer with Quartermaster Corps of the 91st Division in France, working tirelessly during the Battle of the Argonne, traveling continuously with little opportunity for rest. The hardship he endured may have contributed to his death from pneumonia on February 10, 1919, at a hospital at La Ferte Bernard, twenty-seven miles southeast of Paris. His older brother, Major John Lewis, lost his life with the Canadians at the Somme in 1916 and Wilfred was resolved to enlist, as well. “He enlisted at the declaration of war but was held in construction work at Camp Lewis until made supply officer with the 91st.” (TYEE, 1919, pg. 37.)
The youngest of five children born to John Simon Lewis and Harriet Richards Boyle, Wilfred was a native of Dubuque, Iowa. He was a graduate of Dubuque High School and attended Beloit College for two years before graduating from the University of Illinois in 1907 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Following his graduation from Illinois, Wilfred moved to Seattle, where he was engaged in construction and regrade work. He then served for four years as general secretary for the campus YMCA before becoming the Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds at the University of Washington. He was the UW's only staff casualty. He was actively engaged in the Boys’ club and served as a faculty advisor to Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, having been a member at Illinois. A talented tenor, he headlined UW Glee Club concerts throughout the state.Wilfred was married to Caroyln Gray Tripple on January 21, 1913, in Seattle. They were the parents of a young son, John Simon Lewis, at the time Wilfred was dispatched to France in July, 1918. A daughter, Mary Carolyn, was born posthumously in April, 1919. Wilfred is buried at Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in France. (bit.ly/uw_lewis) A cenotaph at Linwood Cemetery in Dubuque, Iowa, is dedicated to the memory of both Wilfred and his brother, John.