Leslie Arthur Lewis was born on May 17, 1940, at Castries, Saint Lucia, alongside his twin brother, Sir Vaughn Arthur Lewis. He was the son of former Governor General Sir Allen Montgomery Lewis and Edna Lewis nee Theobalds, and received his middle name from his uncle, Nobel Laureate, Sir William Arthur Lewis, the father of Development Economics. He was a derivative of two well-known, respected, appreciated and brilliant families – Lewis and Theobalds – and that must have been endowed with two more than the normal convolutions of the cortex of the brain.
Leslie received his infant school education at the Castries Anglican Inf ant School under the tutelage of his aunt, Ms. Annie Theobalds, known by many as “Teacher Annie,” who was the Headmistress. His primary school education was at the now famous and iconic small wooden building at the entrance to the Holy Trinity Anglican Church’s compound, which housed the Castries Anglican Primary School, under the command of Headmaster of three Barbadian origin, Mr. Lester Vaughn. At the end of his sojourn there, he was awarded a Government Scholarship to attend one of the best secondary schools in the Eastern Caribbean, St. Mary’s College. He was among the students who transferred from the old College site at the corner of Micoud and Broglie Streets to the new College site on the idyllic peninsular environment at Vigie. At St. Mary’s College, which he entered in January, 1952, he was fully absorbed in the academic and extra-curricular pursuits offered by the school. He was comfortable with and excelled in both the classical and scientific side of the curriculum which he loved and was among the first group of students to tackle three Natural Science subjects at the Sixth Form level. Thus in 1958, he obtained the Cambridge University Higher School Certificate in Chemistry, Botany and Zoology.
As a full-blooded Samarian of character, he was offered a position of Junior Master along with classmates Calixte George and Pancras Mc. Griffin ‘Blakes’ ‘Mighty Terra’ Theodore. He taught Science to the Junior forms for an academic year before proceeding to Canada to pursue studies at the tertiary level. Leslie attended the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) of the University of Toronto and pursued studies in Agriculture, graduating with a degree in Agricultural Botany. He began post graduate studies at O.A.C. and was awarded a Master of Science in Agriculture (M.S.A) with specialization in Plant Genetics. He then transferred to Colombia University in the USA, gaining a doctorate (PhD) after studies in Fungal Genetics. His post-doctorate studies were completed in Paris, France before finally settling in New York, U.S.A.
Leslie began his long academic career as an Assistant Professor at the Biology Department of York College of the City University of New York (CUNY). On account of his high-level performance in both lecturing and research he achieved professional status at an early age before eventually being recognized by the University as an Emeritus Professor of Biology. During this period which spanned about four decades, he lectured in Biology to several generations of students. The myriad of students whom he taught, counseled, inspired, guided and mentored have given him high praises for his dedication, commitment, humanity, compassion and constant care and attention and classify him in the “Best Professor” category. He produced several distinguished Scientific Research and Teaching Scholars and Academics particularly in the biomedical field. In addition to his heavy teaching assignments, he was able to conduct cutting-edge research in fungal genetics and produced several scientific papers in reputable and learned Scientific Journals.
His most recent endeavors in Pure Science Research, was in the area of deoxyribose nuclear acid (DNA) interactions with proteins. Despite his heavy teachings and research loads, he was still able to undertake administrative responsibilities such as Coordinator of Admissions of the Biology Programme; Chairman of the National Sciences Department; and Director of the National Institute of Health Biomedical Research Programme. Leslie was by nature a gentle, warm, well mannered, well spoken, polite, honest, kind, loyal, honourable and graceful individual with a marked aura of responsibility. My daughter Judeen, who attended his last birthday luncheon and who had spoken to him over the phone but had never met him remarked: “But Daddy, Leslie is the most gentlemanly gentleman that I have ever met. ”
Throughout his life Leslie was meticulous, thorough, logical and analytical in his approach to solving life’s problems whether in the scientific, socio-political, economic or health realms. Leslie was the quintessential family man. His love and devotion for his wife Pamela (Pam) and his dearest daughters Christine and Nicole has been deep, profound, sincere, unbreakable, all embracing, overarching and everlasting. His devotion to Pam during all these years of suffering from Alzheimer’s was not only extraordinary but would appear to have been heavenly inspired. In that regard, in his inherently scientific approach in all matters, we collaboratively made assessments on the usefulness of Coconut Oil in tempering the disease as my wife, Alvina, suffered from Alzheimer’s like conditions as well due to Parkinson’s Dementia.
Over the years, we had long discourses on our findings and he was convinced that the cure would be found in ketone biosynthesis. During this ordeal, his optimism, patience and compassion was clearly evident. But above all else, his strong faith in the Almighty inculcated and infused in him from religious instructions from Holy Trinity and devout Anglican parents and relations, had given him the power and strength to endure a most debilitating situation. Leslie was an articulate, all-embracing illuminating conversationalist. He could hold his own on a wide range of topics be it Ancient History, Contemporary World Affairs, Religion, Sports, Philosophy, etc etc.
Although he spent most of his life working on pure natural science phenomena, he also delved into non-pure science areas of knowledge. He was obviously an exceptional man and his versatility was evident through articles he wrote of a socio-politics economic nature. The Lewis’s are proud of and fiercely loyal to their race and to assisting the less endowed which commenced with their grandparents who were staunch adherents to Marcus Garvey’s philosophies. Leslie seemed to have absorbed certain Fabian Society leanings like his uncle and Godfather, William Arthur Lewis. Perhaps Arthur’s dictum “The cure to poverty is not money but knowledge” might have had its ‘radix morphogenesis’ in Marcus Garvey’s teaching that it would be educational opportunities that would lift the black man to prominence in world affairs. In this regard, Leslie’s intellectual capacity knew no boundaries as illustrated below: Dear Calixte, Thank you very much for the stimulating conversation that we had today. I have attached the article … I think the idea of publishing this in installments is terrific. I’m considering that it be published in three parts as is the idea of getting Lawrence O’Donnel or Rachel Maddow as a help in getting it published. In the meantime, I have sent it to Move On to see if they can be of any help but not having heard back from them I am going to send it off to the New Yorker Magazine … So let me know what you think and thanks for the help to date.
Well, I thought the article a masterpiece and considered it a virtual thesis for another PhD, this time in Political Science. It was entitled: “The Slow Descent of the Unique American Experiment. in Constitutional Democracy into the Abyss of Neofascism.” He described it briefly thus: “The slow descent of the American Experiment. in Constitutional Democracy into a Neofascist State is linked not only to the Original Sin of the 18th Century Confederate States of America (CSA) but to the Prevailing stain of Moral Depravity of 21st Century White Supremacy and Systemic Racism brought to the forefront by the most overtly bigoted, Neofascist and Racist President in the modern history of the American Presidency. The history and description of this descent will be described in parts. ”
This a ‘mirabile dictu’ treatise which is very relevant in the current American Political debacle as well as the incipient extreme right-wing movements towards a return to 18th Century conditions. WOW! What can I say? Borrowing from Shakespeare I can only say that the elements in Leslie were so mixed that the world will say “This was a superman. ”
Requiescat in Pace.