Mr. Jasper was born in South Philadelphia, one of three children, and came from a musical family. His father was an undertaker and a jazz musician; his mother worked as a dressmaker and had a beautiful singing voice. One grandmother played the organ in church, a grandfather played the drums, and an uncle was a dancer. Mr. Lewis himself didn’t start playing the piano until he was in his twenties, saying “I never knew what I wanted to do, but I was crazy about music. All my friends were into music in some type of way.”

He met his wife, Catherine, on a blind date. She was a model who worked shows for Bonwit Teller, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Wanamaker’s. He learned later from Catherine that she was reluctant to go out with him at first, telling her friend, “I’ve seen him but I don’t like him.” Her friend replied, “If you don’t go out with him, I’m not going to do you any more favors!”

Needless to say, that first date went well and they just recently celebrated their sixty-seventh wedding anniversary. They had two daughters, one of whom passed in 2012. The rules for raising them were: Church number one, teach them right, and try to pick good company for them. Mr. Lewis acknowledges that the last rule doesn’t usually work because “…kids pick who they want to be friends with.” He admits to being a little disappointed that none of his children took to music, saying, “I was mad, but I understood that it was their lives.” Mr. Lewis’ daughter Irene says that while the musical gene skipped her generation, happily it has returned with the current crop of grandkids.

His words of advice to children (and parents) today: “Listen to your parents…at times…because sometimes parents don’t understand young people. Times change so much.”