Thompson Lewis; Pediatric Dentist, Professor At UW
An old training film for dentists who focus on children shows Dr. Thompson Lewis with a nervous young patient in his chair. He holds a piece of plastic which the little girl must bite down on during an X-ray.
She does not look eager.
"Do you want onions or tomatoes on your hamburger?" the doctor asks in the film, holding the mouthpiece like a Big Mac. The girl's face brightens, and after adding some imaginary tomatoes and ketchup, Dr. Lewis has inserted the plastic piece and the X-ray is over.
As a professor in the University of Washington's dental school, Dr. Lewis taught the region's and the nation's dentists to comfort and care for their tiniest patients. In his practice as a children's dentist, some patients kept coming even after they had children of their own.
Dr. Lewis died of colon cancer Monday (July 13). He was 74.
"He brought a great love and dedication to children," said Peter Domoto, a former student who is now chair of the UW Pediatric Dentistry Department. "It permeated his teaching and research, and it made him an excellent role model for dealing with children."
Served in the Navy
Dr. Lewis was born in 1924 in Evanston, Ill., the son of a Methodist minister who died when he was 2. After his father's death, Dr. Lewis' mother moved in with her family across from the Northwestern University campus.
Years later, he was a student at Northwestern after attending Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.
It was at Northwestern that he met his future wife, Betty Jean, whom he nicknamed "Beej."
His college career was interrupted by World War II, when he served in the Navy as a "frogman" underwater-demolition specialist. After the war, he enrolled in Northwestern's dental school.
Dr. Lewis' first practice was in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. After four years as the area's only dentist, he and his wife moved to Seattle so he could work toward a master's degree at the UW. In 1955, he joined the faculty of the university's new pediatric-dentistry department.
Dr. Lewis did research on behavior modification, using heart rate and other physiological measures of anxiety to see what made children nervous in the dentist's chair. He was also one of the first dentists in the Northwest to cater to handicapped children.
The outcome was a better understanding of what pediatric dentists should be taught, which he addressed in a book he co-authored. The book has become a "cornerstone" in pediatric dentistry, said another of his students, Bryan Williams.
Dr. Lewis headed Children's Hospital's dentistry department, which he built from a two-room office to a clinic for children with medical problems.
Never slowed down
Dr. Lewis retired from the university in 1992 but maintained a his private practice until a few weeks ago. He had nicknamed himself "Old Tom," but his family and colleagues say Dr. Lewis never slowed down, even after being diagnosed with cancer 14 months ago.
Besides his wife, Dr. Lewis is survived by two daughters, Betsy Meredith of Eugene, Ore., and Maggie Huppe of West Seattle; three grandchildren; and his sister, Patsy Macfarlane of Santa Ysabel, Calif.
A funeral will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Sand Point Methodist Church, 4710 N.E. 70th St.
Memorials may be made to the Sand Point Methodist Memorial Fund, in care of the church; to the Law/Lewis Endowed Lectureship, UW School of Dentistry CDE, Box 357137, Seattle, WA 98195; or to Swedish Medical Center Foundation Tumor Research, 747 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122.