DEBORAH LEWIS

BRIDPORT — Deborah Lewis was born on April 19, 1953, to Robert and Alice (Imholz) Lewis in Ann Arbor, Mich. She passed away on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, at the age of 71, in Bridport, Vt., at home with her family. She was diagnosed with atypical Parkinson’s-MSA-C in April 2023.

She attended Darien, Conn., public schools and graduated from Darien High School with honors in 1971. She attended Wellesley College for one semester and then moved to Uberlingen, Germany, where she worked and went to school for four and a half years. Upon her return, she attended Tufts University and earned a German undergraduate degree and a Master’s in Physical Education in 1981.

Upon graduation, Deborah worked for Union Carbide, setting up the employee health promotion and physical fitness program. Her entire career was in health promotion and physical fitness with several corporations, and then in her own business. Deborah’s last career, and the one she loved the most, was her own outdoor adventure company, Bredesen Outdoor Adventures. She set up and led hikes all over the world for four or five weeks every summer, leading groups on “hard hikes with soft beds.” Often on family outings that seemed long, Renee, Rob, and Lance would ask, “How far to the trail’s end?” Deborah would always say, “Just around the next bend.”

Deborah was a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, The Green Mountain Club Breadloaf Section, Adirondack Mountain Club, Sierra Club, and Kayaking Club “League of Women Boaters.” Deborah and her husband of 32 years, Lance, belong to the Unitarian Universalist Church. She loved cross country skiing, snow shoeing, bicycling, kayaking, and most of all, hiking.

She loved her English Setters and had four rescues. Penny is the last. She had a great eye for photo composition, wrote beautifully, and always wrote wonderful Christmas and New Years letters with photos. Deborah loved nature and the beauty of all the places we lived and traveled. She loved building and maintaining trails and had several miles of trails on her Bridport/Addison property that she mapped, built, and maintained.

Deborah is survived by her spouse, Lance Zimmerman (Bridport); children, Renée Eun Jee Lewis-Zimmerman (Raleigh, N.C.) and Robert Ho Joon Lewis-Zimmerman (Norwalk, Conn.); grandson, Charlie Rein Kuilan (Raleigh, N.C.); and siblings, Barbara Lewis (Red Hook, N.Y.), Nancy Holmes (Maples, Fla.), Elizabeth “Betty” Stern (Los Altos, Calif.), and William (Bill) Lewis (New Haven, Conn.).

She was preceded in death by her parents; brother Robert (Bob) Lewis Jr. and sisters, Linda Lewis, and Virginia “Ginny” Hilsman.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the NAF (National Ataxia Foundation) at (763) 553-0020, nafataxia.org, or the Green Mountain Club Bread Loaf Section (gmcbreadloaf.org) — go to the Green Mountain Club page and there is a donate button.

Wishing you happy trails, Deborah. ◊