Philip Daniel Lewis (1929-2012) was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and grew up in Chicago and Palm Beach. His father, Frank J. Lewis (1867-1960), had first visited the area to pave the streets of Riviera Beach. Phil graduated from St. Ann On-the-Lake Academy, now Rosarian Academy, and St. Ann Catholic School. After attending Georgetown University in Washington, D. C. , he worked at his family’s Mulberry Farms, which later became the city of Atlantis. Lewis learned about real estate while helping his father manage almost 10,000 acres in northern Palm Beach County, which were later developed into Abacoa and other communities. In 1958 he established Philip D. Lewis Real Estate in Riviera Beach. He married Maryellen H. Howley (1927- ) and had nine children.
Lewis represented the Catholic Diocese of Miami in helping migrant workers, and in 1965 he chaired a Palm Beach County commission to study local government. At the urging of then-Senate President Jerry Thomas, he ran and was elected to the Florida Senate from 1970-80. He served as its president 1979-80. Lewis received the St. Petersburg Times’ “Most Valuable Man in the Senate” award and the “Most Effective Member of the Senate” Allen Morris award.
After leaving office, Florida’s governors continued to appoint Lewis, who had earned a reputation as a peacemaker, to committees and boards, many of which focused on education and the environment. He chaired the Committee on Aging, and was a founding member of Florida Tax Watch, the Northern Palm Beach County Board of Realtors, and the Northern Palm Beach County Water Control District. Lewis also led numerous civic organizations, both local and statewide. One of many tributes he has received is the dedication of the Philip D. Lewis Center for Business and Industry Technology at Palm Beach Community College’s Eissey Campus.
A former Florida legislator said of Lewis, “I don’t think he treats anybody not as an equal. I think that’s just the way he’s built. “