05/27/2026
Honoring a true cornerstone of our community and the NMC family. 🌲🕊️ The legacy of Richard C. Lewis (Class of 1956) is beautifully woven into the very history of both Northwestern Michigan College and NMC Aviation.
His connection to NMC dates back to the college's earliest days, when he attended classes in the original Quonset huts near the airport and watched our first campus buildings rise. While he valued the education that helped him go on to successfully found Universal Alarms Company, it was the lifelong friendships he made as a student that he cherished above all else.
A lifelong enthusiast of airplanes, Richard was profoundly inspired by his time working as a lab technician for Parson Aircraft Corporation on NASA’s historic Man-to-the-Moon project. Today, that deep passion for aviation lives on at NMC.
Thanks to his incredible generosity, 235 of his beautifully handmade model airplanes have been donated to the college and will be proudly displayed in the Aviation Administration building—a lasting tribute to his memory and a gift to future aviators. ✨✈️
We are deeply grateful for his life, his entrepreneurship, and the incredible legacy he leaves behind on our campus.
Click the link to read the full tribute: https://www.nmc.edu/about/foundation/alumni/outstanding-alumni-2026.html
