Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Wife’s tribute after biker Steve killed in camper van crash
A H E A RT BROK EN w ife has paid tribute to her biker husband Steve Lewis, who died following a crash with a camper van last week.
Steve, of Kirkton Crescent, was killed on August 2 after the smash on the A827 Lix Toll to Ballingluig road, at Haugh of Ballechin, near Logierait.
There has been an outpouring of grief since news emerged of the 53-year-old’s death, and his distraught wife Maureen says she has been inundated with tributes.
Maureen, 58, said: “It was a tragic accident and nothing could be done.
“Steve was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“He had a heart operation last July when he had a valve replacement and he’d recovered well from that.
“Steve was very well liked, as can be seen by the number of cards and flowers I have received.
“We had been to St Andrews just the day before and then the accident was the next day.”
Bikers from across the UK are now planning a huge “ride out” as a mark of respect to the trade union organiser, who also competed as a bodybuilder in the past.
Motorcyclists from Scotland and England will participate in the tribute which will take place ahead of Steve’s funeral service at Dundee Crematorium on Thursday.
Maureen, a domestic assistant with the NHS, added: “There’s going to be a huge turnout for the funeral.
“The biker community is very tight knit and his friends have organised a ride out which will start from the Lidl car park at South Road along from the funeral directors and go to Dundee Crematorium.
“Steve was a bodybuilder and won a prize in an over-50s competition just two years ago, but he didn’t take part any more.
“His hobbies were bikes and the gym.
“He was well liked in the gym and gave advice to people – he’d never turn them away.”
Steve might be familiar to Tele readers after his incredible bodybuilding exploits featured in a story in April 2017 (see below), where he lost five stone to make weight for a contest, and was invited to the International Bodybuilding and Fitness Association’s British finals.
He was also a powerlifter, but took up bodybuilding later on in life, at the age of 48, and said at the time he e had struggled to walk up a flight of stairs before launching his fitness campaign.
Steve was inspired by city bodybuilder Bill Duthie and managed to halve his previous calorie intake.
Steve said: “The hardest part was the diet. The training side of things, I find quite therapeutic.”
He was judged third at an event in Lochgelly which qualified him for a national final, and he said: “Bodybuilding was not the easy option for losing weight – far from it.
“It is such a hard sport and I don’t do things half-hearted, so I wanted to go up on stage and be the best I could be. That’s exactly what I did and I was up against guys who have been doing it for more than 30 years.”
The funeral takes place at 12.30pm and donations can be made to the Scottish Charity Air Ambulance, a cause close to Steve’s heart.
Steve, a grandfather, is survived by Maureen, sons Barry and Shaun, and stepdaughter Donna. He was brother to Graham, Hannah and Simone, and a son of Jean and Colin.