Lewis Milligan
May 9, 1940 - March 20, 2024
Lewis Gilbert Wesley Harry Milligan passed away peacefully on March 20, 2024, at the age of 83. He was born in Richmond, Calif., on May 9, 1940, to Northern Irish and English immigrant parents, Nora and Lewis (Alec) Milligan, shortly after they moved from N.Y., with his two older sisters, Ruth and Molly.
He is survived by his daughter, Jennifer; son-inlaw, Howard; grandsons, Connor, and Liam; nieces, Sharon (Paul), and Kathy; and nephews, Gary (Deborah), and David (Deborah), and many more relatives in England, Ireland, Scotland, and the U.S.
Known to many as either “Wes”, “Lew”, or “Lewie”, he was a man of many talents, a jack of all trades. At ten years old, he traveled to Europe with his family for five months and attended school in Northern Ireland. He graduated from El Cerrito High School in 1957, and traveled again to Europe with his family. He then enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he trained at Navy electronics school at Treasure Island. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and spent his offduty hours singing on TV and radio as a member of a quartet called “The Fidels”. Subsequently, he lived in Australia and New Zealand for a year – working, touring, and playing rugby. He became an avid dirt bike rider and competed in multiple enduro races – including the prestigious, invitationonly International Six Days Trial (ISDT) in Spain, in 1970. This was also the year he married the love of his life, Judi Fracchia, on June 20, 1970, at St. Francis DeSales Cathedral in Oakland. They had a ten-week honeymoon in Europe with extended stays with relatives in Italy, England, and Ireland. They had their daughter, Jennifer, in 1977, and together they made several subsequent trips to Europe, often lasting over eight weeks.
Lew worked for the City of Berkeley as an electrician and supervisor for over 25 years. During this time, he became very involved in scuba diving and won several awards for his underwater photography. He enjoyed windsurfing and was a successful fisherman and abalone diver. He was an enthusiastic bird watcher and nature photographer and had multiple photos published by Outdoor California Magazine.
He was also an extremely talented musician – beginning with the violin/fiddle in grammar school, and then branching out to play the button accordion, mandolin, banjo, guitar, concertina, and more. He played numerous Irish music gigs around the Bay Area, participated in San Francisco’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade for over a decade, and performed at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival with the Murphy Irish Dancers for multiple years. He greatly enjoyed the wonderful Irish community of San Francisco being a longtime member of the Cooley-Keegan branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.
He had a wonderful 46 years of marriage with Judi, until her passing in January of 2017, from breast cancer. In more recent years, Lew was very close with partner, Diana Durand, who shared his interests and was a great companion for him.
He made an abundance of friendships over his lifetime and cherished them immensely. He was a lover of music, nature, and adventure. The world has lost a bright, outgoing, adventurous spirit – a person who will never be forgotten. A memorial service will be held at the United Irish Cultural Center on Friday, March 29, 2024, at 2:00 p.m.