Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

Our dad, Nickolas John Lewallen, Sr, died to this life March 10, 2022, after a long struggle with cancer. Nick was born on February 2, 1946, to Josephine and John Lewallen in Fresno, California and was baptized into Jesus's death and resurrection on November 6, 1949. He enlisted in the Air Force on February 15, 1965, and while stationed in Michigan he met our mother (Claire Chojnowski) drag racing in Detroit. He may have lost the race, but he won our mother's heart and the two were married on September 17, 1966. Dad was deployed to Vietnam serving a 1-year tour of duty between mid-1967 to mid-1968 and was in Vietnam for the Tet-Offensive. Following an honorable discharge, our dad worked various jobs, raised a family, and went to college to earn a degree in education. With that degree, we all ultimately settled in Basin, Wyoming where he served as a teacher in Big Horn County School District #4 for 22 years. After retirement our parents moved to Laramie, Wyoming to be closer to family.

Dad was an avid sportsman, he enjoyed hunting with his sons and grandsons; never missing a season to use his hunting skills to put food on the table for his family. His final hunting trip was spent with family. He always kept up on current events and often could be found reading his favorite periodicals and local and national newspapers.

Our dad instilled in us a great many life lessons including the importance of family, a strong work ethic, never shying away from speaking our mind, and to help those needing a helping hand among other lessons. He opened his house to strangers, even hosting four foreign exchange students through the years. Our dad never met a stranger as we would often find him striking up conversations with people he had just met.

Our dad is survived by Claire his wife of 55 years, four children (Nick Jr., Shirley, Lisa, and Matt), nine grandchildren (Chandra, Nickolas III, Larry, Colton, Alexandria, Aidan, Emerson, Zoe, Johnsley), and seven great-grandchildren (Nickolas IV, Madeline, Blair, Joshua, James, Gwendolyn, Payton). We all will miss you dad more than words can express, but we are comforted by God's promises and rest assured we will see you again in the presence of Jesus.

Services will be held at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Laramie, Wyoming on March 18, 2022. Viewing is scheduled for 10 a.m., a funeral service at 11 a.m. and luncheon at noon. Internment with full military honors will be conducted at Cheyenne National Cemetery in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to be made to the Larry Wostenberg Memorial Fund at Pinnacle Bank in Wyoming, this fund provides scholarships for students from Torrington to attend trade school.

Go to http://www.montgomery

stryker.com to send condolences or to sign the online guestbook.