Roll Call Tribute

Lewis Wood Nunley, USAF RET.
March 4, 1951 - March 19, 2022

It is with extreme sadness that we announce the passing of Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Wood Nunley, USAF, Retired. Lewis, age 71, was officially called Home to the Lord on March 19th, 2022. His family was unprepared for this unexpected loss from a complication after surgery following an accident at home. If you had the good luck of having known “Lew”, you would know that he would never have wanted to leave us this way. He would have wanted to go out in a giant blaze of glory, drinking margaritas and eating all the things he shouldn’t --- directly defying his doctors’ orders and testing his loving wife’s patience. Or perhaps, if he was lucky, he would have left this world with the overwhelming joy of having witnessed his Fighting Texas Aggies make a run at a National Championship.

Lewis was born on March 4th, 1951, in Cedar City, Utah, to Pascal and Jane Nunley. After his early years in Mobile, Alabama, the family moved to San Antonio, Texas, during his middle school years. This is where his most formative years were spent, attending Holmes High School, and forming the rare kind of eternal friendships that seem to only exist in books and folktales. Three of those incredible friends were teammates who ran the mile relay with him. Together they created light-hearted mischief, allowing all his classmates to remember “that one time.” One such high school story involved stretching a slinky around the circular hall, and releasing it to bang on all the doors (all in the name of Physics, they said).

After high school, Lew went to college at Texas A&M University, joined the Corp of Cadets, and met his next set of forever friends in his BC-3 outfit. There are a ton of stories of his time there at A&M… and only Lew could tell them in a way that would do them justice. He received the honor of being selected as both the squadron’s commanding officer and a Ross Volunteer. It was during this time that Lew was introduced, by one of his best friends, to his future wife, the absolute love of his life, Barbara Crain.

Barbara and Lewis were married in 1975 following their graduations from college and went on to have 3 children. Raising them always kept him on his toes and tested every bit of his patience, but they were his whole world and the pride of his life. He always felt his greatest accomplishment was raising three great humans.

He served in the Air Force, having an extensive career as a pilot and accumulating over 3000 flying hours in T-38s. During his time in the military, he moved up the ranks to Lieutenant Colonel. He was known for his straight-forward honesty and no-nonsense approach to tackling any situation. Some of his fondest memories included being sent overseas to Perth, Australia for 3 years. He loved to share stories about fishing for Marron, taking a trip around the countryside in a camper van, eating pavlova, and making great Aussie friends. During his time in the service, he was also stationed in Kansas, Lubbock, San Antonio, and Del Rio, the latter he would eventually call home. When he wasn’t working, you could find “Diamond Lew” pitching on the softball field. After 20 years of active duty, he retired from service but continued to teach young future pilots as a simulator instructor at Laughlin AFB.

After a career full of military moves, Lew firmly rooted himself in Del Rio, where his family will always consider “home”. He traveled to all his kids’ sporting events, served on the Del Rio School Board for 4 years, and was part of the football booster club. In retirement, you could find Lew on the golf course, or at TB’s Bar & Grill where he partook in good-natured trash-talk with friends while playing Golden Tee golf. Eventually Lew and Barbara built their dream house on 20 acres of land where he spent some of his favorite years grilling and smoking for his family and friends, all while he enjoyed the beauty of nature around him. When not in Del Rio, he was attending as many A&M games as he could or visiting his grandkids and was a crazy-proud Papa Nunley.

While his health started to decline with age, his larger-than-life spirit never did, and there will be a massive-sized hole that can never be filled from his absence. We will carry all these memories with us in our hearts always. And with that, we raise our glasses to a great man, loyal friend, devoted husband, proud father, and the greatest “Papa” …our Lewis.

Lewis is preceded in death by both his parents (Pascal & Jane Nunley). He is survived by his loving wife, Barbara, and all his children and grandchildren (daughters Melanie Massare and Amanda Nunley, son Craig Nunley and daughter-in-law Vanessa Nunley, and grandsons Tyler, Hudson, & Nathan).

Visitation will be held at 7pm on Thursday, April 28th, at Porter Loring Mortuary North in San Antonio, Texas. Funeral services will be at the same location on Friday, April 29th at 12pm with interment following the service at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery.