Delano Lewis: from Arkansas City to NPR and South Africa
Lewis, son of a Santa Fe railroad porter, led National Public Radio and served as U.S. ambassador to South Africa.
By Wade Ellison
Delano Lewis was born in Arkansas City on Nov. 12, 1938, the only child of Raymond Lewis, a porter for the Santa Fe Railroad, and Enna Lewis. His parents named him for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, though he said it “del-AY-no.”
He graduated from Sumner High School in Kansas City, Kan., and from the University of Kansas in 1960, where Wilt Chamberlain was a classmate. He earned his law degree at Washburn in 1963 while working full time at the Menninger Clinic.
Lewis went on to work as a Justice Department attorney and later held leadership jobs at the Peace Corps and National Public Radio, where he was president. From 2000 to 2001 he was U.S. ambassador to South Africa.
He died in 2023. His son is the actor Phill Lewis.