Lewis Thomas Winfield, 85, of Cape Canaveral, FL and Salem, NH, formerly of New Bedford, died Thursday, February 23, 2012 at Cape Canaveral Hospital. He was the husband of Alice Margaret (Benoit) Harriman Winfield and the late Rita (Raymond) Winfield.
Born in Cumberland, Maryland, the son of the late Charles and Edna (Ellsworth) Winfield, he had been a resident of New Bedford for many years before moving to Florida and New Hamsphire. He was a communicant of Holy Name Church and was awarded the Marian Medal from the Diocese of Fall River for his services to his Church.
Mr. Winfield served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a Firefighting Specialist F 3rd class and also served as an instructor for Shipboard Firefighting at the Navy's firefighting school in San Diego. He was one of the youngest persons to be rated Specialist Firefighter.
He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1946, and served in Crash Fire Rescue at Kessler AFB in Biloxi, MS until his discharge in 1949. He then worked in the Crash Rescue Fire Department at Camp Edwards and Otis AFB on Cape Cod from 1950 to 1968, retiring due to a wartime injury. He and his late wife then owned and operated Common Park Hydraulic Jack Company for 25 years until his retirement in 1991.
In 1965, he was awarded a National Certificate for over 500 hours of First Aid instructing. He served as a member of the George N. Alden Ambulance Corps for several years. He was also a volunteer member of Civil Defense Rescue Squad and held a Heavy Duty Rescue Instructor certificate from Massachusetts Civil Defense School.
He was a member of the National Association of Independent Business, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, the American Association of Retired Persons, the International Association of Firefighters, and the American Legion Post 265 in Acushnet.
Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Lynn Ann Winfield of Taunton and Denise Basti of Brookfield; four sons, Michael Winfield and his wife Diane of East Taunton, David Winfield and his wife Karen of West Wareham, Richard Winfield and his wife Elizabeth of South Hadley, and Steven Winfield and his wife Susan of Cordova, TN; his stepchildren, Theresa Ann Constantino, and Ralph and John Harriman; three grandchildren, Catherine, Bradford, and Timothy; twelve step-grandchildren and seven step-great-grandchildren.
He was the brother of the late Charles Winfield, Mary Stewart, and Edna Ketterman.
His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday at 9 AM at Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. Burial will follow in Sacred Heart Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Monday from 5-8 PM at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation, 701 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004 or the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.