On May 16, 2007, Wallace Lewis, long time member and one of the founders of Bluegrass gospel’s The Lewis Family, passed away at Wills Memorial Hospital in Washington, GA. He was 78 years old. Born July 6, 1928, James Wallace Lewis spent over fifty years traveling, singing, and playing guitar with his parents and siblings as a member of “America’s First Family of Bluegrass Gospel.” In 1995, after a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and lengthy illness, he was forced to retire. Wallace is survived by his wife of 49 years, Betty Jean; siblings Miggie Lewis, Esley Lewis, Talmadge Lewis, Polly Lewis Copsey, Janis Lewis Phillips, and Little Roy Lewis; three children and their spouses, Travis and Karen Lewis, Karen and Tommy Saggus, Keith and Dawn Lewis, and eight grandchildren.

Wallace is the uncle of Jeff & Sheri and the father of their bus driver, Travis.