Hundreds of people dressed in vibrant colors poured into the stands at the College of Charleston’s tennis courts on May 4.
Instead of gearing up to watch a quick-paced collegiate tennis match, the crowd settled into wooden chairs to celebrate the life of Dr. Zachary Lewis, a former tennis standout and Medical University of South Carolina resident who died earlier this spring.
The 30-year-old was reported missing on March 31, and his body was found in the Charleston Harbor on April 1. The cause and manner of his death is still pending, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office told The Post and Courier on May 2.
The tennis courts were a fitting environment to honor Lewis’ life, as he played the sport competitively for more than 10 years, according to Jay Bruner, the men's tennis coach at the College of Charleston.
Lewis began to shine in his hometown of Lexington, Ky., and played on the Lexington Catholic High School’s team beginning as an eighth grader.
He was named the MVP five years in a row, graduating with a 100-6 record and always being inside the nation’s top 100 players, Bruner told the crowd of 350 at the memorial service.
Lewis won 18 matches in his first two seasons playing in the College of Charleston’s NCAA Division I program, and dominated 16 matches throughout his second two seasons, according to Bruner. He even helped the men’s team earn its first Colonial Athletic Association Championship title during his senior season.
Quiet and mentally tough, he could shoot lasers across the court with the sound of a firecracker, Bruner said.
“The best part of it was not a trophy or a trip to the NCAAs, but it was the collection of memories or friendships that can never be lost or taken away,” Bruner said. “He gave us all what we needed most — a lovely friend to share our life with.”
Lewis also had a unique ability to remember the specific type of tennis racket every opponent he ever faced played with. Not only could he rattle off the current racket each person played with, but he remembered every racket they had ever used.
“Zack was always right. We were in disbelief,” Bruner said. “It was an amazing memory and a skill that I’ve never seen before and will never see again.”
His competitive side did not stop with tennis. Lewis was always happy to play just about any game a friend could propose, according to Bruner.
Cornhole? He was in. Capture the flag? He was in. Tag? He was in.
He loved playing croquet, and he even had a decadeslong rivalry with one of his uncles, according to his cousin.
And he was remarkably good at winning arcade games. Bruner remembers how Lewis would play games at Dave and Buster’s for just a few minutes and return with an armful of prizes for himself and his friends.
“He just loved competing,” Bruner said. “He smiled and laughed every single time after he would score or win, like he knew it, and he thought it was so much fun that he could always pull it out in the end.”
Lewis also enjoyed getting to know the ins and outs of his friends, several of his buddies shared at the celebration of life.
“With a straight face and a deadpan tone, Zack would ask about your work life, your home life, your love life and even how your car was running,” said Dr. Riley Chambers, a Medical University of South Carolina resident and Lewis’ residency mentor.
“He would then take a 10-second pause, look at you, and resume asking about your family, your career, your aspirations and what makes you tick,” Chambers continued. “At first, all of us thought this was just his sense of humor. But after months of forking over all this information, we realized that Zack was just that passionate about life and just that loving of others.”
But Lewis wasn’t just “the man with the questions.” He also became “the man with his own language,” according to one of his high school friends, Dr. Pat Keller.
Lewis had a “particular knack” for making up his own words and phrases, according to his cousin, Dr. Josh Elder. Keller said he’s never met a person who had coined more sayings.
When their high school friend group went to separate colleges, Keller figured Lewis must have grown out of making up his own sayings. Until one friend visited him in Charleston and reported back that Lewis had his entire tennis team speaking his language.
“For a guy as reserved as Zack, it’s extremely remarkable how infectious he was,” Keller said. “When we asked him how it all caught on, he said, ‘People thought it was stupid at first. Then they loved it. You just gotta stick to your guns.’”
Lewis was kind, yet able to poke fun at his friends. Brilliant, but extremely humble, his teammate and College of Charleston roommate, Josh Record said.
“Zack was pretty much your ideal friend,” Record said.
He was fiercely loyal to his friends and family, Elder said.
Once, when he was just a tween, he counterattacked a "punk neighbor kid" who was attempting to loot his relative's tomato garden. He followed the neighbor into his home and threw juicy tomatoes at him inside, Elder recalled at the memorial service. The neighbor never bothered Lewis' family again, Elder said jokingly.
“This may be my favorite story,” Elder said. “I love that it shows Zack’s fierce loyalty to his family, even at a young age.”
Lewis met his fiance, Kylie Geddes, when he went on a family vacation to the Bahamas in college with his teammate, Hunter Geddes.
People often asked Hunter if it was strange that his best friend was dating his sister, but he said he couldn’t think of anyone better for her to be with.
“Truly two of the weirdest people I know, they were perfect for each other,” Hunter Geddes said.
Lewis proposed to Kylie Geddes this October after eight years together while he was in his first year of a clinical anesthesia residency and second year overall at the Medical University of South Carolina, Hunter Geddes said.
MUSC requires anesthesia residents to complete a comprehensive internship during their first year to get experience around the hospital, Elder told The Post and Courier.
Lewis was a “rising star” in his field of anesthesiology, according to Chambers.
He had a calm confidence in the operating room and a steadiness that was beyond his level of training, Chambers said. Peers who worked alongside him in the hospital could expect a shift full of excellent clinical care, plenty of laughter and far-fetched pranks, according to Chambers.
He was “universally loved” within his program and enjoyed welcoming his fellow residents to Charleston, always willing to open his home and share his boat with his friends, Chambers said.
Neither Kylie Geddes, nor his parents, Jim and Jenny Lewis, chose to speak at the celebration of life. But several speakers noted how Lewis’ strong character reflected how he was raised.
Lewis’ friends at MUSC will always be on-call to support his family, Chambers said.
“We cherish our warm memories of Zack, wishing he was still here by our side,” Chambers said. “No matter how hard we try, how many tears we cry or how many years go by, we still can’t say goodbye.”
Photos of Lewis and a recording of the memorial can be found on his obituary website.
