Director of dining services dies

<p>Jon Lewis, the director of dining at Ball State, died this past week. The university will be holding a memorial service at 2 p.m. on Oct. 10 at the Alumni Center. <em>PHOTO COURTESY OF BALL STATE UNIVERSITY</em></p>

Jon Lewis, the director of dining at Ball State, died this past week. The university will be holding a memorial service at 2 p.m. on Oct. 10 at the Alumni Center. PHOTO COURTESY OF BALL STATE UNIVERSITY

Jon Lewis, the 61-year-old director of dining services at the university, died unexpectedly in his home Oct. 2. 

Lewis had worked as the director since 2006, when he joined the Ball State dining team, but he had worked in the food service industry for 40 years. He started his career in dining services at Northern Illinois University. 

Under his leadership at Ball State, dining services earned the 2010 Ivy Award of Distinction, a high-ranking national award, and the university was listed in the top 75 best colleges for food by The Daily Meal. 

In July, Lewis was given the 2015 Theodore W. Minah Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of College and University Food Services, which recognizes one person each year who has made great strides with the advancement of the food service industry. 

He was born in 1954 and grew up in Stevensville, Michigan. He graduated from high school in South Bend in 1972 and went to Purdue University to study restaurant and hotel management. 

Lewis was also active in the Muncie Noon Rotary Club. 

The university is hosting a memorial service for Lewis at 2 p.m. Oct. 10 in the Alumni Center, and visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Oct. 9 at Meeks Mortuary and Crematory in Muncie. 

The university announced his death around 9 a.m. on Oct. 6 through a campus-wide email. 

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