from the USTA Communications Department

Columbus, OH — Longtime trainer/driver Samuel “Skip” Lewis, 82, died July 18, 2014, after a brief illness.

He was born April 22, 1932, in New Jersey and lived in Apopka, Fla., since 1972.

Mr. Lewis spent his pre-teen years in Kingston, Pa., and later at Patterson, N.J., where his parents operated a chicken farm. At 12 he began working as a part-time groom at Willow Brook Farm and later, in 1945, at Roosevelt.

He served under Bill Fleming and Charlie Fitzpatrick before starting out on his own in 1963. Mr. Lewis started training horses at Ben White Raceway in Florida in 1968. He reached the pinnacle of the sport when he trained Historic Freight to a victory in the 1984 Hambletonian.

He was the owner of Rolling Hills Farm in both Apopka and Montgomery, N.Y. and was a former chairman of the Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival.

Mr. Lewis is survived by his loving wife, Lillian; children, Karen Lewis New, Donald P. and Michael G.; grandchildren, Brenton M. New and Marc Akther; sister, Marylin Maxwell; and brother, Howard.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on July 25 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 834 South Highway 441, Apopka, FL, 32703.