Tom Lewis (American politician)

Thomas F. Lewis (October 26, 1924 – August 1, 2003) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida.

Formative years
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 26, 1924, Lewis attended the St. Edwards School and graduated from Central High School in 1942. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces as a gunner aboard a B-25 bomber, and continued service in the U.S. Air Force on the ground in the Korean War, being discharged at the rank of master sergeant in 1954.

Lewis attended Palm Beach Junior College, and graduated from the University of Florida with a business degree in 1959.

Career
For seventeen years, Lewis was an executive with the aircraft company Pratt & Whitney, followed by work in real estate investment. He entered politics in 1964 when he was elected councilman and mayor of North Palm Beach. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1972, where he served four terms, and to the Florida Senate in 1980.

In 1982, he was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 12th district (later the 16th district after redistricting in 1990), defeating Apollo 15 astronaut Alfred Worden in the Republican primary. He would be reelected five times before retiring in 1994.

Illness and death
Lewis died of heart failure following surgery on August 1, 2003, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He was survived by his wife, Marian, who was also a Florida state legislator.