Andrew Zane Lewis

Andrew Zane Lewis, 25, of Fort Lauderdale, FL and formerly of Carmel, passed away unexpectedly December 23, 2018.  He was born November 5, 1993, in Indianapolis, the son of Theodore J. and Elizabeth A. (Bess) Lewis.

Andrew loved life and the outdoors. It was evident at a very young age that he would pursue the lifestyle where he would be surrounded by nature and doing what he loved every single day. He attended Carmel Schools and the Midwest Academy.  Andrew was very athletic and involved in many sports while in school and in the Carmel Dad’s Club.  He especially enjoyed football and lacrosse. He enjoyed traveling with family, attending Colts games, and vacationing anywhere he could fish! Even on our family trips to Arizona he would find a place to fish. Later in high school, Andrew started cooking and quickly learned to prepare a variety of seafood and fish, and enjoyed sharing that with whoever was around.

Shortly after high school, Andrew moved to Key West where he attended Florida Keys Community College. There he learned how to repair and work on boats and spent a lot of time at various marinas. While in the Keys he spent most days doing what he loved. This included free diving, spear fishing, or being on the water in some form. He loved all forms of animal life in the Keys, from the manatees that visited his boat in the canal, iguanas sunning on the boats or seawalls, sea turtles, and sand sharks which he like to wrestle to the surface for fun.

In Key West he worked on commercial fishing boats and then started working as a mate on both commercial and private fishing charters ranging from 1/2 to 3-day long trips. He spent the necessary time on the water to test and earn his 6 pack Captain’s License and then his 100-Ton Masters Captain’s License. He was very proud of being an Indiana kid who successfully worked his way up the ladder with no salt water experience.

His favorite trips were overnight charters to the Dry Tortugas Islands where he was both the Captain and the cook. Andrew could prepare seafood as well as any restaurant and was known for frying the best fish. He also sold his catches to various restaurants and had recently formed a company with his good friend Ben Reising, to sell fish from the Keys to restaurants in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

He also worked as a Captain at Jet Boat in downtown Miami on Biscayne Bay, and currently was a charter Captain of the New Latitude sport fishing boat based out of Fishing Headquarters in Ft. Lauderdale.

Our family was very proud of Andrew as he followed his passion and led a life that most people can only dream about. We couldn’t wait to see his social media posts of his daily catches or most recent adventure. He will be greatly missed and forever loved in our hearts.

He is survived by his loving parents; brother, Teddy (Stephanie) Lewis; niece Mya; maternal grandfather, Billy Bess; Aunts: Cathy Brantley, Jenny (Jim) Clark, Kathy (Gary) Bartlett, Peggy Constant, Terri (Nick) Breitung; Uncles: Robert (Annie) Lewis, Rob Bess, William Bess; long-time friend and companion, Chelsea Craddock; and a large extended family of 15 cousins and 8 second cousins.  He was preceded in passing by his paternal grandparents, Robert Zane and Janet D. Lewis; maternal grandmother, Betty Bess; and cousins, Nicholas J. Breitung and Kassandra Needler.

Services will be at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 5, 2019, at Flanner Buchanan – Carmel, 325 East Carmel Drive, Carmel.  Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 4, 2019, at the funeral home.

He will be cremated and at a later date some of his ashes will be buried near family at Union Cemetery in Eaton, Indiana. The remaining ashes will be spread at sea on a coral reef at Pelican Shoal in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary near Key West. It is near his former home where he honed his diving, boating, and fishing skills and was probably his most favorite place on earth.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Make Good Decisions an organization created in memory of Andrew’s childhood friend Brett Finbloom.

Online condolences may be shared by visiting flannerbuchanan.com.

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A Message from Andrew’s Family:

We want to thank everyone for their tremendous support and on-going prayers.