Lewis Ervin Upchurch

Lewis Ervin Upchurch, 88, of Clearwater, Fla., passed away Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. Mr. Upchurch was born in Pennsylvania, and was a previous resident of Lewisburg. He served in the U.S. Navy during WWII where he was trained at the U.S. Navy Diesel School in Richmond, Va. In 1946 he worked for W.H. Hardison Company where he was part of a team that built the Highway 50 Drive-in Theater. A mechanical engineer, most of his life was spent working and teaching model making, mold making, design and construction of prototype models and machinery. Mr. Upchurch was an inventor, holding six different patents.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar Lewis Upchurch and Sarah Francis Hale Grammer; two brothers, Charles F. Upchurch and Robert T. Upchurch; one dear sister-in-law, Nellie Hill Upchurch; and two nephews, Charles E. Upchurch and David Shockley. He is survived by a sister, Thelma Shockley; nine nieces and nephews; and many great- and great-great nieces and nephews.

A memorial service was officiated by his close friend and Chaplin, Ray Hosner, of the Clearwater VFW.

His final wish was to be cremated, with his ashes scattered over the Gulf of Mexico.

A memorial plaque will be placed at the Clearwater Veterans Cemetery.