Lewis G. DeHaven

Lewis DeHaven, 89, of Woodville passed away peacefully in his home on August 14, 2024.

He was born in Winchester, Virginia on April 19, 1935 to Herbert and Mary Brown DeHaven. He was their only child but enjoyed the company of many friends and cousins. He graduated from James Wood High School in 1953. His athletic career was short but included serving as a guard on the very first football team at James Wood in 1950.

Lewis remembers casting his first vote for president for Dwight Eisenhower who rewarded him with an invitation to join the Army. He served as a cook in Germany and had opportunity to travel to other countries when on leave. Upon his honorable discharge and return home, he went to work for Bonn Bread, in keeping with his high school ambition to be a truck driver. He worked out of Baltimore, where he kept an apartment with his friend, Jackie Gess, and they would go home to Winchester on the weekends. It was during one of those trips home that he met Jackie’s younger sister, Sue, and fell in love. They married on June 10, 1961, the day after Sue graduated from James Wood. He quit his job in Baltimore and went to work selling insurance for Life of Virginia. A natural salesman who never met a stranger, he did well, but soon found opportunity to run an industrial laundry route with Carter Service Industries. Eventually he moved up to management and ran the Winchester depot. After many years of battling snow and ice in the mountains to deliver uniforms, he mentioned to his boss that if they opened a plant in Florida, he would like to have it. The response was, “How about Texas?” He visited in April and thought it was a tropical paradise, so he packed up his young family, which now included two teen-aged girls, and headed to Texas in 1977. His company was sold to Unifirst Corporation and he continued on with the company until his retirement in 2000. He worked in Houston, Baytown and ended his 40+career in Lake Charles, LA. At retirement, he and Sue started looking for a nest back in Texas, and settled on Woodville, loving every minute of life back in the country.

Lewis served as a volunteer van driver for Tyler County Veteran Services from 2004-2019, driving local veterans from Woodville to the VA hospital in Houston for medical treatment. He loved every one of his passengers and enjoyed the time he got to spend with them on the van. He was a member of the local VFW Post 2033. He kept busy tending to his yard, keeping up with it till the very end of his life.

He was preceded in death by his father, Herbert DeHaven; mother, Mary Brown DeHaven and the love of his life, Delores “Sue” DeHaven.

He is survived by his loving daughters, Holly McDonald (Tom) of Woodville and Diane Bhatula of Abilene; niece Kim Gess Mongold of West Virginia, cousin Theresa Hulver Gilbert of Winchester and and many friends across the country.

Funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 24, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. at the Riley Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Jerry DuBose officiating. Burial will follow at the Magnolia Cemetery in Woodville. Visitation will be Friday, August 23, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

Memorial gifts can be made to Harbor Hospice Foundation at harborfoundation.com/donate.html, the local Tyler County Veterans Services at 201 Veterans Way, Ste. 200, Woodville, TX 75979, Dogwood Hill Baptist Church at 823 US 190, Woodville or a charity of choice.

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