Lewis FINAL.pdf

7/28/2019 Lewis FINAL.pdf

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Greatness Prevails!

The official, JLFS-approved story documenting the finaldays, funeral events and life celebration of Joe Lewis—the greatest fighter in the history of karate

by Rob Colasanti

© Copyright October 2012 All rights reserved

Images courtesy of JLFS

No part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, withoutthe permission in writing from the author.

JoeLewisFightingSystems.com



Joseph Henry Lewis

Life.

What we do with it and the level of impact our actions

have on others can be compared to ripples in a pond.

Flick a grain of sand into the pond and nothing happens.

But, if you drop a boulder into the pond, a continuously

expanding wonder of ripples will energize like a fusion

reaction and travel across the water for as far as the eye

can see.

The bigger the rock…the biggerthe ripples.

Using this analogy, Joe Lewis was a mountain—a truly

rarified individual who touched the hearts, minds and

imaginations of countless people around the world and

the ripples he created will travel for the rest of time.

On August 31, 2012 at 10:45 am, Joseph Henry Lewis, age68, succumbed to the sneakiest opponent he’d ever fa-

ced—brain cancer. Actually, Joe’s ultimate passing was

due to pneumonia. The heavy-duty medications he had

been taking to battle his metastasizing tumors gradua-

lly whittled his immune system down to nothing, the-

reby giving the pneumonia a timely opening to strike.

The typical person of Joe’s age, who develops a glioblas-

toma, only survives one to fourteen months. It’s one

of the most aggressive, meanest and toughest to fight

cancers a human being can possibly develop. Withoutsurgery, the champ would have lived an estimated six

weeks. But Joe Lewis lived 13.5 months—post surgery.

And this was a testament to the sheer mental and phy-

sical strength he possessed.

At his bedside at the time of his last breath was daughter

Kristina Lewis, ex-wife Kim Hardegree Lewis, and girl-

friend Svetlana Cavasmi.

Joe went quietly—surrounded by his loved ones. He was

finally out of pain.



TEST

4 Greatness Prevails!

To set the stage and create appro-

priate expectations, this story is not

meant to give you a history lesson

about Joe Lewis. It’s not meant to

document each phase of his life. It’s

not mean to point out his flaws. This

story focuses on Joe’s passing. But

to do this article justice, I still want

to spotlight some of the significantaccomplishments and distinctive

characteristics personified by the

remarkable man to whom this arti-

cle is devoted.

From a big picture point of view—

countless people around the globe

have imitated Joe Lewis’ electrifying

movements, personality, vernacular

and style. In fact, however: Joe Lewis

was inimitable.

Once referred to as “The Golden Boy

of Karate,” Lewis was in a league

of his own when it came to his un-

derstanding and skill in virtually all

aspects of fighting, combat sports

and the martial sciences. He maste-

red the chessboard of the ring at an

early age and became the ultimate

reality checker for any fighter who

began to get a little too confident.

Furthermore, the man achieved

some of the most monumenta-

lly impactful milestones the mar-

tial arts world had ever seen. He

completely dominated sport kara-

te during the “blood and guts era”

of the sixties, he became the first

heavyweight kickboxing champion

during the seventies—giving the

sport the “teeth” it needed to de-

but on national television, and due

to his ahead-of-his-time approachto fighting and willingness to step

in the ring with anyone, he could ar-

guably be considered the father of

MMA.

As a person and martial artist, Lewis

was the best of the best on so many

different levels. I knew him for 26

years of my life and so it’s easy for

me to highlight a few of his finer

qualities here.

At the top of the list, Joe Lewis had a

charisma like no other, making him

one of the most confident, intense,

captivating people you could ever

have the privilege of meeting. (Think

the James Dean of martial arts ti-

mes three.)

He had a genius level IQ with the

physical attributes of Adonis.

He was a proud Marine, a martial

arts icon, a champion fighter and a

famous Hollywood star. His movie,

Jaguar Lives, boasted a lavish mi-

llion-dollar production budget back

in the 70s—when budgets of this

size were far from typical.

When it came to the fight game,

Lewis brought perspective, quality

standards, and dimentionalized-

thinking to the forefront. He wasconsidered THE teacher of teachers

by virtually everyone who is anyone

in the martial arts world, respected

at the highest level.

He was a prolific writer and a formi-

dable historian of the martial arts

with a steel-trap mind—incredibly

detail-oriented, readily providing

a cat scan-like perspective on so-

mething seemingly insignificantthat happened maybe 30 years ago

at a tournament.

He was a courageous contempo-

rary who continuously evolved his

patented fight system—showing

zero loyalty to the ineffective, out-

dated ways of the past—shattering

molds; shifting paradigms; sparking

innovations.

He was a supremely principle-cen-

tered individual, who vocalized a

profound distaste for anyone whom

he considered an “imposter.” Fur-

Joe Lewis

Did It “His Way”



thermore, he detested shysters, B.S.

artists, and especially anyone who

tried to harm one of “his guys.” And

what always mattered to him was

the size of your heart, not the size of

your wallet.

He had an uncanny ability to make

people laugh and laugh and laugh

until their faces and bellies ached—

anywhere, anytime.

He was a man who stood for valor,

conviction, integrity and dignity—

someone who vehemently refused

to compromise those values for an-

yone, or any amount of money.

He was a man of laudable and ex-

ceptional ethos. And he was never

afraid to speak his mind—regard-

less of the consequences. He was

definitely not a politician.

Joe Lewis…was “the king of the jun-

gle”… a mighty and unstoppable for-

ce of nature.

But most importantly to him, he was

a loving father of two beautiful chil-

dren—Cameron and Kristina.

Yes, Joe Lewis truly was a one-of-a-

kind and he will be sorely missed.

The silver lining in the cloud of his

passing, however, is that Joe lived

a life that would make nine-tenths

of the world’s population massively

envious. He did it all and he had it

all. He lived life on his terms. He li-

ved it with pride. And he lived it with

sound trust in his personal state-ment of self.

If Frank Sinatra were here today, he

would not hesitate to say, “Joe Lewis

did it his way.”

Sadly though, what’s clear to those

of us who really knew Lewis is that

the very same characteristics that

catapulted him to legend status are

the same characteristics that cau-

sed him grief throughout his life.

But the important thing to recog-

nize is that Joe took great pride in

“who he was and what he stood for”and he never faltered from his core

values and beliefs, not even on his

deathbed.

Along these lines, I don’t know if it’s

true or not, but a very credible sou-

rce mentioned that a feeble, defen-

seless, end-stage Joe Lewis spit on

a well-known visitor, right from his

wheelchair, that he believed was a

wolf in sheep’s clothing.

True? Not sure. Admirable? I think

so. Very few people in this world

have the guts to remain true to their

convictions, never wavering, never

yielding, never selling-out…as Lewis

demonstrated. He maintained his

dignity, until the final bell was rung.

Joe Lewis as a young Marine in Vietnam, circa 1965.



Article with photo No. 2


On the morning of August 31, I was

sitting by myself, stretching, on my

living room floor. At one point, I

thought, “Sometime soon, I’m going

to get a phone call about Joe Lewis

dying.” It was inevitable.

The reports coming to me from

the VA hospital in Coatesville, PA

had become grim. Joe was getting

weaker and weaker. Wheelchairbound. Very sick. At times, unable to

eat or speak—slipping in and out of

consciousness.

However, during the last weeks of

his life, Joe was still squeezing his

hand grippers. His knuckles were

still the size of golf balls despite his

emaciated body. He was still kidding

around with the nurses. Still staying

in the fight.

In fact, JLFS black belt Bob Mauro

told me that an incomprehensi-

bly weakened Lewis rose from his

wheelchair and taught him a foot-

work drill—pointing, grunting, and

maneuvering to maintain his balan-

ce—just weeks before he died.

I continued to stretch on that fateful

morning in August.

Then, about 15 minutes later my

phone rang. It was a friend of mine.He sounded unusually calm as he

asked, “Have you heard the news?”

I responded with, “No. I’m sitting

here stretching. What news?”

He said, “Your friend Joe Lewis is

gone. I’m sorry for your loss.”

At that moment, I was literally spee-

chless. The room closed in on me.It felt as if I was being transported

somewhere else. Anger boiled in my

blood. I unknowingly hung up the

phone on my friend.

The whole thing seemed like a di-

vine tug of war that “we” lost. On

our side, we were holding onto Joe,

pulling as hard as we could to keep

him here. He wanted it so bad. All

his friends, fans and family wanted

it so bad. And it always seemed so

possible that he’d beat his cancer

because Joe was different—a “su-perhuman,” if you will. But, on the

other side, an incredibly powerful

force was pulling him in the opposi-

te direction. It was so much stron-

ger. It totally overpowered us. We

just couldn’t compete.

It was implausible to think that in

the blink of an eye Joe was no lon-

ger with us. I mean, we can send a

2,000-pound, car-size rover to Marssome 34 million miles into the cos-

mos, but we couldn’t keep this mira-

cle of a man alive, right here, with all

The FinalDays


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/lewis-finalpdf 7/32Joe Lewis 7

amazing knowledge we supposedly

have at our fingertips. Baffles me.

Ah, what can you do? As my dad

always says, “When it’s your time…

it’s your time.”

And the time had clearly come for

the great Joe Lewis to go to that

mysterious place that we’ll all one

day discover despite our prayers,advancements in technology and

mortal efforts to beat the system.

According to JLFS Chairman, Dennis

Nackord, “In the middle of August

2012 while Joe Lewis was being

cared for at the Coatesville, PA VA

hospital, he continued to complain

about severe left shoulder and hip

pain. At that time there was a di-

fference of opinion on what wasthe cause and what course of action

should be taken. The decision was

made to move Joe to a private hos-

pital for further tests. The results of

those tests showed his brain tumor

had metastasized and a decision

was made to return Joe to the VA

hospital as a Hospice patient. After

13 months of caring for Joe, I told

the VA doctor I would turn Joe’s care

over to him and continue my pla-

ce as Joe’s friend. Within four days

of withdrawing Joe from palliative

care, his tumors had spread to many

areas of his body and he died withinabout 12 days. His final days were

spent with his close family and girl-

friend. Because of the excellent care

the VA hospital gave to Joe, his pain

was controlled to the best possible

extent and he was at peace in the

end.”

Immediately following the news of

Joe’s death, the directors of JLFS set

their plans in motion. They knewthis day was coming, so prepara-

tions had been initiated nearly one

year in advance.

One of those preparations, as stated

by Joe Lewis, was that he wanted

me to be the author of the events

involving his departure. No doubt—

an emotionally difficult chore for me,

but one that I instantly accepted to

honor the wishes of a man who was

my martial arts hero, instructor and

friend.

According to JLFS President, MikeAllen, “Sometime in May of 2012

when I was on a phone call with Joe

we discussed what would be said

about his death and funeral when

the time came. He told me ‘I want

Rob Colasanti to write this story

cause he will get it right...I trust

Rob.’”

So join me now as I walk you through

some of the unforgettable momentsthat I personally witnessed during

the events surrounding Joe Lewis’

final send off.

Lewis, in June of 2012.

Joe Lewis was wheelchair bound in his final days.

JLFS President Mike Allen during his final visit with Lewis.

Daughter Kristina Lewis, holding her

daddy’s hand, hours prior to his passing.





On September 7, 2012—me, and hundreds of other mar-

tial artists arrived in Raleigh, North Carolina to attend a

series of events that would comprise Joe Lewis’ funeral.

People came from all over the world to pay tribute. Butone man, Mr. Nelson LeBron, gets the record for far-

thest distance traveled. Upon hearing the news, LeBron

booked the next available flight from Okinawa, Japan.

Some 33 hours later—and about $2,600 lighter—he arri-

ved. (With only one change of clothes since he had no

time to check his luggage.)

Personally, I don’t do funerals. But this one was diffe-

rent. Joe was family to me. So I had to be there, but not

as a weeping bystander. Rather, to help with the pro-

cess…just as I would have done with one of my own. Acall of duty, if you will.

The first order of business was a two-hour visitation

with the Lewis family at the L. Harold Poole Funeral Ser-

vice and Crematory.

Upon arrival, we instantly observed a chapter of vete-

rans known as The Patriot Guard Riders—each standing

at attention in various locations in front of the buil-

ding—each clutching a pole that gallantly flew the flag

of the United States.

Lewis was a proud Marine who served approximately

four years on active duty in the Third Marine Division. In

1962, he did boot camp in Parris Island, and then went

to Camp Lejeune for infantry training. He was in the Far

East during 1964 and 1965, primarily Camp Hague on

Okinawa and Da Nang in Vietnam—honorably dischar-

ged in 1966 as an NCO (corporal). Hence, the directors

of his association ensured that he would receive a full

military style burial.

By 7 pm, the funeral parlor was packed, transforming

it into a veritable who’s who of the martial arts. Joe’s

friends, family and students from far and wide gathered

in his honor; grieving for their loss; sharing their deepest,

heartfelt stories about the fallen warrior; embracing one

another for strength; searching for closure. Most people

successfully faked being upbeat. Others were comple-

tely grief stricken and just couldn’t pull it off. Overall, the

mood was emphatically somber.

The once great champion lay at the front of the room—

entombed in a casket, shrouded entirely by an American

flag.

Playing overhead was a slideshow revealing significant

moments of his life. Here, we witnessed a jaw-dropping

collection of rare photos from family albums, which

brought to light startling images of Joe Lewis that even

his closest friends had never before seen.

His stars and stripes gi and 10th degree black belt beca-

me the attire of a wire mannequin positioned to the left

of his casket. And the entire scene was warmly encased

with gorgeous floral arrangements and various awards

that Joe had received in recent years.

As I stood in the front row overlooking Joe’s casket—still

in a state of disbelief—I watched martial arts brothers

and sisters approach one after the next. Some made the

sign of the cross. Some knelt down and prayed. Some

gently placed their hands on the casket and stared intothe distance for a while. Some kissed the casket. Ever-

yone cried.

Me? I just couldn’t believe that my friend was actually

lying there in that box. I felt sick. At the same time, I felt

the urge to somehow rescue him. To get him out of the-

re. To bring him back. For a moment there, I got confu-

sed. I think they call that denial.

Then, at approximately 10 pm, everyone said their goo-

dbyes for the evening. Some of us went to a nearbysteakhouse for a late night dinner. Others went back to

their hotels to rest. Many more went for a stiff drink to

calm their nerves.

” The once great champion lay at the front of the room—entombed ina casket, shrouded entirely by an American flag.”

The Visitation



Article with photo #3


The Memorial Workout

”Joe Lewis added monumental value, clarity and profound—almost haunting—awareness to the martial arts community about how much more is possible.”



Bright and early the next morning,

JLFS hosted a workout in Joe’s honor

at the Raleigh Institute of Martial

Arts.

Approximately 100 of Joe’s black

belts came together to train—

mostly all of us wearing Joe Lewis

t-shirts of varying designs.

As you’d expect, there was a tre-mendous amount of spirit and ca-

maraderie in the air. Each kick, each

punch, each block—was executed

with pride, conviction and power—

almost as if we knew for sure that

Joe Lewis was watching from above,

still analyzing our movements and

guiding us towards perfection.

A boxing ring was located in the

center of this rather large school

with an open floor plan. Then, one

after the next, various JLFS fighters

and trainers climbed into the ring to

teach one of their favorite Joe Lewissparring drills.

Some of the presenters were Dan-

ny Dring, Randy Ballard, Jim Graden,

Kevin “Hurricane” Hudson, John

Maynard and Bob Mauro. The sweat

was dripping. The adrenalin was

pumping. And smiles were promi-

nently displayed on every face.

For a minute there, we all took our

minds off Joe’s funeral, which was

now just hours away.

A proud group of JLFS black belts following The Memorial Workout conducted in Lewis’ honor.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/lewis-finalpdf 12/3212 Greatness Prevails!

At approximately 12 pm, the lobby of the Hilton was pac-ked with “dark suits” preparing to journey to the funeral

home, and subsequently the cemetery, where the legen-

dary Joe Lewis would be introduced to his final resting

place.

The funeral began promptly at 2 pm—standing room

only.

Walt Lysak, one of Joe’s top black belts, who is also a

preacher, delivered the sermon. He spoke from the heart

about Lewis and told earnest stories to commemoratethe occasion.

Most notably, Walt discussed the moment when he and

his brother Charlie helped Joe find God just months prior

to his death. With the guidance of the Lysak brothers,Joe yielded completely to the almighty, accepted Him

once and for all, and released an ocean of tears that

comforted his soul.

Walt also told a story that was so “Joe Lewis” I’d be re-

miss if I didn’t share it here.

To paraphrase—some years back, they were in Greece

at a martial arts event and the promoters had taken

them to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Joe was facing

the window and noticed a couple of stray dogs sniffingaround a garbage can, looking for food. Soon the meals

arrived and Joe was suddenly nowhere to be found. To

everyone’s astonishment, Joe quietly snuck outside with

his plate of food, sat on a bench and began feeding his

The Funeral



meal to the hungry dogs. He was happier to be outsidetaking care of those mutts in need, than inside hobnob-

bing with the promoters.

And that was Joe…

As the ceremony began to wind down, Walt Lysak lead

us through the singing of Amazing Grace. No music. All

that could be heard were the voices of so many people

who came together for this historic occasion…eyes full

of tears…lumps in throats…trying hard to get the lyrics

out.

Finally, the deceased’s lifelong friend, Walter Ander-

son, delivered a heartrending eulogy that overflowed

with breadth, depth and perspective about his pal Joe

Lewis—making it clear that no one on Earth could havebeen a more appropriate choice for the task at hand.

Walter had been close with Joe for more than fifty years.

They bunked together in Vietnam. They embarked upon

all the follies of youth together. Walter was the first per-

son Joe called after he won his first karate tournament.

They shared decades of deep, meaningful conversation

about topics such as existentialism, life, death, philoso-

phy, family, etc. They were soul mates to the end.

Indeed, Walter knew Joe at a level that no one else canclaim. When the former editor of Parade Magazine step-

ped up to the podium, it was akin to Joe DiMaggio step-

ping into the batter’s box during his prime. He spoke

eloquently about the granite-like character of Lewis

Hundreds of mourners entered the L. Harold Poole Funeral Service Chapel in Knightdale, NC to say their final goodbyes to the great Joe Lewis.



and some of the amazing life experiences the two had

shared. At times, Anderson made us laugh; at times he

made us cry. Ultimately, he helped us come to terms

with our loss and gave sincere suggestions on how to

bring closure to it.

Due to my background in running a leading martial arts

association and magazine, the directors of JLFS had as-

ked me to be in charge of PR. I was designated Official

JLFS Photographer and handed a professional grade

Nikon camera to help document the event. (Some of the

photos you see in this story were taken by me.)

So as Joe’s family began exiting their pew, the main pho-

tographer and I hopped in her car and raced to the ceme-

tery in advance of the funeral procession.

The recessional to the gravesite was now in motion.

Lewis’ burial took place atthe New Knightdale BaptistChurch Cemetery. Picturedhere:

1. Bill “Superfoot” Wallace

2. Nelson LeBron

3. Kenny Herrera

4. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hess

5. Lone Bugler (opposite page)

1

2

3

4


Lewis’ burial took place athe New Knightdale Baptist

Church Cemetery. Picturedhere:

1. Bill “Superfoot” Wallace

2. Nelson LeBron

3. Kenny Herrera

. r. and Mrs. oe Hess

5. Lone Bugler (opposite page)



”Shovel by shovel, weliterally gave Joe Lewishis finally burial by hand.”

Joe Lewis 15

The Burial

It was a very hot, Saturday afternoon in Knightdale, Nor-

th Carolina. The sun was shining bright, birds were chir-

ping and the setting at the Knightdale Baptist Cemeterywas serene and picturesque.

I stood at the side of a very long and narrow road, camera

in hand, waiting for Joe’s arrival. The scene remained still

for what seemed like an eternity. Then, all of a sudden,

out in the distance, I detected the dull flicker of red and

blue police lights. I knew the time had come.

As the procession crept closer and closer the sheer size

of it became evident. It was lead by a police car, followed

by the hearse transporting Joe’s remains, Joe’s family, aunit of veterans on motorcycles, military personnel and

then a massive lineup of vehicles being driven by Joe’s

black belts and friends.

One after the next, cars entered the thin cemetery off-

road, which gave mourners access to the nearby gra-

vesite. The hearse now located approximately 20 yards

from where Joe would ultimately be laid to rest.

Eventually, when everyone had arrived, the pallbearers

sullenly approached the back of that “long black limou-sine.” They included Mike Allen, Dennis Nackord, John

Maynard, Bill Wallace, Phil Maldonato and Warren Ken-

nedy.

As the back of the hearse opened, the military honor

guard detail, positioned approximately 50 yards away,

readied their rifles. Joe was carried a short distance to

the excavated rectangle of earth, which would become

his final earthly destination. Then, one at a time, each

pallbearer placed a vibrant red rose, in row formation, on

top of the casket.

Next, a full military burial ceremony commenced, giving

the former Marine the farewell salute he deserved. It in-

cluded an ear-popping salvo of rifles, the silent folding

and presenting of the flag of the United States to Joe’s

son Cameron, and the very somber playing of Taps by a

lone bugler.

During and after the ceremony—you could literally hear

a pin drop. And then it suddenly came to an end…with an

effortless simplicity…just like that.

Joe’s family was first to say their final goodbyes and then

exited on the green carpet under foot. Subsequently,

a lengthy line began to form, which included everyone

else.

To the left of the casket was a bucket of sand broughtfrom Treasure Island Beach near Wilmington, NC.

5



Article with Collage


Joe loved that beach. The dreamy

view. The refreshing waves. The

sugar-white sand dancing beneath

his feet. As the mourners paid their

final respects, each gently sprinkled

a handful of sand over the casket.

I noticed someone placing a piece of jewelry on top of the casket. And to

lift some of the heaviness that was

in the air, Joe’s longtime friend Bill

“Superfoot” Wallace placed a box

of golf balls on the casket. In Magic

Marker, he wrote “Joe’s Balls” on the

outside of the box. (Joe would have

had a blast with that one if he were

there to see it.)

According to Wallace, he and Joewent golfing once and Joe hit almost

every ball they had into the weeds.

When they were down to the last

ball, Wallace refused to give it up.

And Joe jested with him over this

for years. Now, eternally, Joe had an

entire box of golf balls of his very

own—compliments of Superfoot.

I was one of the last to kneel down

and say farewell to my friend. As I

sprinkled a modest handful of sandover the shiny silver box, I repeated

some sentimental words that Joe

once wrote to me in a book he gave

me as a gift. Joe wrote, “To a good

friend —and to the bone!” And tho-

se were my last words back to him.

At this point, most people had left

the scene and the cemetery per-

sonnel began to complete the bu-

rial. Using the mechanical devicethat had been put in place prior to

our arrival, they slowly lowered Joe’s

casket into the grave.

A truck, containing a load of dirt arri-

ved simultaneously and backed-up

within a few feet of the hallowed

ground. They were just about to rai-

se the flatbed and dump a yard or

so of dirt over Joe’s grave when one

of his black belts suggested we do

it ourselves. So we asked the ce-metery workers if it would be okay.

And let’s just say they weren’t about

to deny a core group of emotionally

charged JLFS black belts this simple

request. Heck, they may have ended

up down in that hole with Joe, if they

had said no. (Just kidding!)

Next, myself and about 15 other

guys grabbed a couple shovels from

the truck. Then, one by one, we tookturns scooping dirt from the back

of the truck and began covering the

casket.

Phil Maldonato, JLFS 7th degree black belt and pallbearer, places one of six crimson roses on Lewis’ casket.



Phil Maldonato, one of Joe’s 7th de-

gree black belts, actually climbed

into the truck—with his suit, tie and

dress shoes—and pushed the dirt

forward for us to access.

All total, it took us approximately 30

minutes in the scorching hot sun to

finish the job. But finish it, we did.

We literally gave Joe Lewis his finally

burial by hand.

All the while, Joe was probably loo-

king down at us with those piercing

eyes and that suave grin of his sa-

ying, “You guys are NUTS…SICK!”But, at the same time, I’ll bet he was

thinking, “What an unbelievable ho-

nor to ultimately be buried by my

guys. Oh, me.”

[Note: During the Echo of Greatness audio interview in 2005,

Rob Colasanti asked Joe Lewis how he wanted to be remem-

bered. Below is Lewis’ response, which was cut from the in-

terview transcript.]

”I’d probably like to be remembered as a martial artist.I often teach my black belts the ten traits of mentaltoughness.

» One is the will to engage;

» Second is the courage to maintain;

» Third is the bravery to endure;

» Fourth is the confidence to always seek a solution;

» Fifth is the guts to face any adversity;

» Six is the heart to confront any struggle;

» Seven is the spirit to persevere and never quit;

» Eight is the toughness to see the pain as just weak-ness in the body;

» Nine is the savvy to be resourceful and to use yourinner core, that thing I called passion earlier;

» And ten is the conviction of sound trust in your sta-tement of self.

That last one is how I’d like to be remembered. Astatement of self. I like the statement—man’s highestvirtue is to live with dignity. I can live with it. I can diewith it. I came here with nothing. I don’t mind leavingwith nothing.

I want my kids to have whatever I can create for them.”

How Joe Lewis Wantedto Be Remembered

JLFS 5th degree black belt, Jeff Troshane, sprinkles a handful of sandover his instructor.



1 2

3 4

5



Photos1. The hearse transportingLewis arrives at the cemetery.

2. The honor guards preparefor their dramatic salvo to ho-nor the fallen Marine.

3. The symbolic, tri-corne-red flag, which draped Lewis’casket, was presented as akeepsake to son CameronLewis.

4. Longtime friend John Cor-coran says goodbye to his dearfriend.

5. The pallbearers carry Lewis’casket from the hearse to theburial site.

6. Colonel Dane S. Harden andNelson Lebron salute as thepallbearers approach carryingthe deceased.

7. A grief stricken Charlie Lysakmourns the loss of Lewis.

6

7



The funeral events of Joe Lewis culminated in a life cele-bration that included a buffet dinner, brief presentations

from a bespoke group of carefully chosen speakers and

various audio/visual elements that jarred the crowd on

an emotional level. JLFS President, Mike Allen, served as

Master of Ceremonies.

The final leg of this solemn journey to bury “the greatest

fighter in the history of karate” began with a trip to the

buffet. Me, and many of Joe’s other black belts, made a

pact to eat our dinner that night, as Joe would have ea-

ten his—one food group at a time. In other words, youeat all the meats, then the vegetables, then the carbs

and so on.

Once everyone was seated, we recited the oath of ourJLFS Black Belt Pledge. All Joe Lewis black belts stood

up and repeated the words after Mr. Allen stated them.

Before long, the speakers began to address the audien-

ce. They included Walter Anderson, Dr. Maung Gyi, Bill

Wallace, Jeff Smith, John Corcoran, Rob Colasanti, Dennis

Nackord, Steve Smith, Tom Updegrove, Jim Graden, Bob

Mauro, John Graham, Phil Moldanto, Col. Dane Hardin,

Joe Hess, Pat Burleson, Chris Pollman, George Fitzgerald,

Warren Kennedy, John Korab and Mike Allen.

One could probably write a book based upon the tou-

ching stories, heartfelt platitudes and mind-rattling wis-

doms this potent brain trust of presenters shared, not

just about Joe Lewis, but about life, in general. However,

The Life Celebration



a few magical moments occurred and I’d like to sharethem with you now.

First, I was deeply touched by the closing of Bill Wallace’s

talk. Just days before Joe passed away, Bill and a group

of others were at his bedside. They were posing for a

picture and Bill wanted to lighten the mood—a specialty

of his. So he came up with the idea of having everyone

sing California Dreamin’—the 60’s rock ‘n roll song made

famous by The Mamas & the Papas. (You know—All the

leaves are brown…and the sky is gray.)

At that stage of the game, Joe was to weak to pronoun-

ce the words, but he summoned enough energy to hum

along with the group, as Bill held his hand in friendship.

So—at the conclusion of Bill Wallace’s brief talk, he pau-sed for a moment, choked back his emotions and mum-

bled, “I said I wasn’t going to do this. Ahhhhhhhh…”

But he did it anyway. He actually had us sing California

Dreamin’, in an effort to brighten things up a bit, just as

he did once before. He’d sing the line aloud, and then

while waving his hand like a conductor, everyone in the

audience would repeat it. We sang all the song’s verses

and upon completion, a rather toned-down Wallace said,

“That’s the last time I will ever sing that song.” You had

to be there to appreciate the impact.

MA Success editor, John Corcoran, delivered a talk that

the audience found rather shocking. He revealed for the

first time in public the story of how Joe Lewis saved his

life.

A select group of speakers orated heartfelt message at Lewis’ Life Celebration. Seen here is 1. JLFS Senior Mentor, Dr. MaungGyi 2. Lewis’ first martial arts instructor, John Korab 3. JLFS President, Mike Allen 4. JLFS Board Member, Danny Dring.

1 2

3 4



When Corcoran came to Florida in the early 90’s he en-

countered a whirlwind of difficulties. He had relocated

to the Sunshine State to work on a movie script, but the

entire project was terminated a few weeks after his arri-

val. He was suddenly unemployed. At the same time, his

girlfriend, Lanna, was horrifically murdered by one of themost notorious serial killers in history—Robert Joe Long.

To make matters worse, the FBI considered Corcoran

to be a chief suspect in the crime because he fit some

peculiar profiling template they used to determine who

might have done it. According to Corcoran, he was ha-

rassed and abused by various law enforcement agencies

for months, as they tried everything in their power to get

him to confess to a crime he did not commit. Eventua-

lly, Corcoran was mentally drained, jobless, out of money

and the love of his life had been brutally murdered. Allof these factors and others drove him into a deep de-

pression and caused him to seriously consider suicide;

he thought it was his only way out.

Fortunately, however, Corcoran had been roommates

with Lewis for more than four years back in the 70’s in

California. During that time, Joe taught him key black

2

1

3

4


Lewis’ burial took place atthe New Knightdale BaptistChurch Cemetery. Picturedhere:

1. JLFS Chairman, DennisNackord

2. The author and producerof this story, Rob Colasanti.

3. Former Parade Magazine

editor, Walter Anderson

4. Hundreds of guests whotook part in the celebration.

Lewis’ burial took place athe New Knightdale Baptist

Church Cemetery. Picturedhere:

1. JLFS Chairman, Dennisackord

2. The author and producerof this story, Rob Colasanti.

3. ormer ara e agaz ne

editor, Walter Anderson

. Hundreds of guests whoook part in the celebration.



”Joe Lewis was‘the king of thejungle’… a mightyand unstoppableforce of nature.”

belt principles such as courage, indomitable spirit, perseverance, mental

toughness, etc. Corcoran remembered these lessons from Lewis and also

the huge inspiration he was to him. And it was this influence that gave him

the strength to continue the fight and not take his own life. According to

Corcoran, if it had not been for Joe Lewis, he would not be here today.

And the talks continued…

A wheelchair bound Dr. Maung Gyi, Senior Mentor for JLFS, spoke about

his final visit with Joe and shared hints of private matters that ripped right

through the audience’s souls like a razor sharp dha-shay sword. There was

not a dry eye at my table.

Walter Anderson shared hilarious stories of the crafty pranks he and Joe

pulled on one another when they were Marines stationed overseas. And

he revealed that Joe actually died on his, meaning Walter’s, birthday—Au-

gust 31st. As Walter mentioned to me during the previous evening, Walterused to call Joe “the old man” because Joe’s birthday was in March, whereas

Walter’s was in August. So Joe dying on Walter’s birthday was significant

because that meant Joe could no longer be considered “the old man.” In a

sense, the duo would now be equal…forever. Whew! Joe had great timing,

but what are the odds of him pulling that one off?

John Korab, the man who first taught Joe how to fight in Okinawa, spoke of

his relationship with the kid from North Carolina when he was just a white

belt.

And I fascinated the audience with my talk. A number of years ago, I did anextensive audio interview and cover story on Lewis titled “Echo of Great-

ness.” During the interview I asked him, “How do you want to be remembe-

red?” Off the cuff, he gave a profound Lewis-style response that accentuated

the deep-thinking, perennial teacher that raged inside of him. So I cut his

unedited words from the original transcript and read them to the crowd. To

say the audience was captivated would be an understatement. (See sidebar

for Lewis’ response.)

As the evening came to a close, we once again endured the playing of Taps.

This time—a video of a young girl playing it. The video link is TAPS. And from

what I understand, this was Joe’s favorite rendition. Then, JLFS 5th degreeblack belt, Steve Snyder, asked everyone to recite one of Joe’s favorite lines. A

line that anyone who knew Joe Lewis has probably heard him say hundreds,

if not thousands of times.

So together as a group, we all shouted, “WHAT’S SO FUNNY!?”

A thunderous round of applause ensued and that is how the funeral events

of Joe Lewis concluded.

We got the job done!

Joe Lewis 23



”A hundred years from now it will not matter what degree Blackbelt I was, the number of World titles I had won, or how muchmoney my martial arts school had grossed…but that the worldmay be different because I was important in the life of a student.What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.”

—Joe Lewis



In June of 2012, Joe Lewis was resting in bed at the VA

Hospital in Coatesdale, PA when he received the surprise

of a lifetime.

The door opened, and in walked Chuck and Gena Norris,

followed by a host of martial arts notables who domina-

ted the Texas Blood and Guts Era of Karate back in the

sixties.

The Norris’ organized the heartfelt visit, as Lewis’ health

began to dramatically worsen. They flew in on a priva-

te jet—and brought with them an entourage of Lewis’

friends—including Allen Steen, J. Pat Burleson, Skipper

Mullins, Ed Daniel and Roy Kurban.

Also in attendance were JLFS representatives Dennis

Nackord, Mr. and Mrs. Brian McNally, Bill Wallace and

Mike Allen.

The group visited with Lewis for more than four hours—

the longest time he stayed awake to meet with any vi-

sitors in months. They shared memorable stories from

the past, laughed and everyone did their best to lift thegreat champion’s spirits despite the gravity of the situa-

tion.

An emotional Joe Lewis was deeply moved by the out-

pouring of love he received from his special guests.

Before long, the visitors said their goodbyes and flew

back to the Lone Star State. It would be the last time

anyone from the Texas crew would see Joe Lewis alive

again.

A Surprise Visit from the Norris’ andan Entourage of Texas Martial Arts Royalty

Joe Lewis 25







Over 15 months ago after Joe had his initial brain ope-

ration, Dennis Nackord, Joe Lewis, and I spent time dis-

cussing how the JLFS should continue to operate afterhe passes on. He knew the clock was ticking and that

he had only a short period before the cancer would take

him. He was an optimist but also a realist regarding his

disease.

Ever since we started the JLFS association in 1999 we

have been slowly putting together the by-laws to help

govern the organization. By 2011, when Joe was diag-

nosed with brain cancer, we had already positioned our-

selves to carry forward Joe’s system and association

after he died. For each of the last 12 years the seniormembers of the JLFS met at the annual conference and

discussed the future of the JLFS. So we have had over 12

years to prepare this.

Many of those ideas are already published in our by-

laws and the rest was up to us to formulate as needed

to grow the organization. As a result we have an senior

executive board with a chairman, a board of directors, se-

nior advisors with the SBBC, a senior mentor, and a veryloyal membership of JLFS Black Belts. Overall the orga-

nization is a who’s-who of very talented martial artist.

So we are in an excellent position to carry forward the

Joe Lewis system. Joe was a visionary in this case and

ensured we had a clear vision for the future. As a result

we have avoided many of the pitfalls that occur when a

grandmasters passes away and they have no clear di-

rection.

We have our mission statement and charter has beenlaid out. Our mission is “To promote the JLFS, preser-

ve and enhance the systems that Joe Lewis left us with,

and to be the stewards of the rank that we have worked

so hard to earn.”

So our goal is to perpetuate Joe’s system for future ge-

neration with an organization that will train instructors

in his time tested principles. We are an association

of many Black Belts and with many styles so the JLFS

needs to be Integrateable for all these arts. With that

said we do have curriculum for those that want to pur-sue the JLFS as Joe was teaching it.

Here are the latest announcements:

Bill “Superfoot” Wallace and John Korab were inducted

into the JLFS Senior Black Belt Council (SBBC) as official

members. They will be joining Dane Harden, Joe Hess,

Bill D’Urso, and Chris Pollman.

The JLFS Board of Directors met on Sunday September

30 to reaffirm their commitment to continue running theJLFS in keeping Joe’s wishes.

We have contracted with a new company to revamp the

The Future LooksBright for JLFS!




JLFS website which will provide our members with more

information and access to JLFS information on products,

training videos, photos, blogs, and a general go-to page

for JLFS and upcoming events.

We have 3 major JLFS events being planned for 2013

which include:

» 2nd Annual Joe Lewis Day March 9, 2013

» 4th Annual JLFS Midyear Camp June 21-23, 2013

» 14th Annual JLFS Research Conference September

26-29, 2013

We now have an official JLFS training center representa-

tive in England with George Fitzgerald. We have mem-

bers in Canada and we are currently working to certify

John Lemodetis in Greece as a JLFS training center. Sothe JLFS is now an international organization.

We now have new people in positions in the JLFS go-

verning body, administration, and combative areas that

will contribute their time and effort to promote the JLFS.

These new appointments will be announced as specific

duties are designated.

John Maynard is the new vice president of the JLFS, Steve

Snyder is the new executive administrator, and Mariea is

the executive secretary to the JLFS executive board.

We have new high profile members joining the JLFS such

as Danny Lane, Howard Pechlar, Steve “Nasty” Ander-

son, and many more.

We are organizing testing dates. These will include lo-

cations where members can pretest and to ensure they

meet the qualifications in becoming JLFS Black Belts.

We plan to continue promoting JLFS Black Belts as long

as they meet the established criteria set forth in the Joe

Lewis Black Belt Manual.

Two of our most senior and experienced Black Belts (Phil

Maldonato and Jim Graden) are spearheading the under-

black belt curriculum which will be used to promote and

develop the JLFS.

Everyone at JLFS is working hard to maintain organiza-

tion, structure and integrity. You have a place, a home,

and a family!! If you have any questions or sugges-

tions, please email Mike Allen (MikeAllenAKarate@aol.

com) or John Maynard at [email protected]

Thank you and stay tuned,

Mike Allen

President, JLFS

Joe Lewis 29





For anyone who had the unique privilege of knowing Joe

Lewis—a piece of them is now missing. Me, persona-

lly—a day will probably never pass when I won’t think

about my old friend at least once.

Does the death of Joe Lewis mark the end of an era? Per-

haps. But life must go on, and it shall, as it always does.

Joe Lewis will remain with us forever and his legacy will

multiply with each passing year—no different than how

the legacies of Bruce Lee, Elvis Presley, Abraham Lincoln

and so many other greats continue to emanate outward

like those proverbial ripples in the pond.

Think back to that auspicious moment in Star Wars part

one when Obi Wan Kenobi says to Darth Vader, “You

can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become

more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” I belie-

ve that while an unbeatable opponent ultimately “struckdown” Joe Lewis, he is now more powerful than ever. He

was always larger than life, but he’s now even larger in

death.

All people share a common experience. They struggle

from birth until they take their final breaths. But a rare

few do more than just survive or endure. They prevail.

And it is in their lives we can find inspiration for our own.

Joe was such a soul.

So the time for closure has come. We’ve wept abun-dantly. Now we must raise our chins, look reality in the

eyes and accept the fact that we are all just visitors here.

Walter Anderson said it best when he spoke at Joe’s life

celebration. He told the chilling story of a father who

was grieving over the loss of his child. Each night, in

his dreams, he’d see the child, leading a procession of

angels carrying candles. But the candles were never lit.

Then one night the child came to the father in his dream.

The father asked his child, why the candles were never

lit. And the child responded by saying, “Daddy, it’s becau-se your tears keep putting them out.”

As Mr. Anderson suggested, it is now time for us to wipe

our tears and begin celebrating the life of this magnifi-

cent man. A man who made countless others proud to

be martial artists. A man who inspired people everywhe-

re—of all ages—to aim for the apex of greatness. A man

who added monumental value, clarity and profound––

almost haunting—awareness to the martial arts com-

munity about how much more is possible. A man who

will never be forgotten. That man is the one-and-only,

Joe Lewis.

May “The Jaguar” live on…forever!

“The Jaguar” Lives On!

About the Author: Rob Colasanti is “The Am-

bassador of the Martial Arts” and Presi-

dent of The Martial Arts Community Orga-nization (MACO). He is a best selling author

and a JLFS black belt. He can be reached at

RobColasanti.com.



Documents

Lewis FINAL.pdf