Lewis H. Butler ’48

Lew died of heart failure at his home in San Francisco May 24, 2024. He was 97.

A fourth-generation San Franciscan, Lew graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep and went to MIT on a scholarship to study physics. After a year, he joined the Navy and then enrolled at Princeton, where he was a member of Cottage Club, played basketball, and majored in philosophy. In 1951, he graduated from Stanford Law School.

Lew left his career in corporate law to join President John F. Kennedy’s Peace Corps — despite being a Nixon Republican — because, his daughter, Serra Simbeck, says, “he was trying to do good in the world.” Chosen for a leadership role, Lew moved his family to Malaysia to start the program there.

When he returned, Lew co-founded the first environmental law firm in San Francisco. He then served as assistant secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1969 to 1971, authoring legislation that established the EPA and working on welfare reform, national health insurance, education funding, and family planning.

Next, he co-founded and directed the Health Policy Program at the University of California, San Francisco medical school, where he was a regents professor.

Known for his dedication to making California a better place, Lew founded and chaired (1984-2009) California Tomorrow, a nonprofit focused on the state’s future as a multicultural society. In 2002, the Butler Koshland Fund to mentor civic leaders across the United States was founded in honor of him and his mentor.

Lew was married to Sheana Wohlford from 1953 until her death in 2016. He is survived by his daughters, Serra and Lucy. His son, Lewis W., died in 2020.