Joseph Lewis / Family photo
BY KENNY NGUYEN AND CHANTELLE NAVARRO
Homicide Watch Chicago
Joseph Lewis was working his way up at a remodeling company, and considered going back to school to study engineering to advance his career, family said.
“He was hired at Frank Gibson’s [Total Remodeling & Design] as a beginner. He probably didn’t know how to hold a hammer right, but he got the job, was put to work and he picked it up easily,” said Lewis’ father, Bernard Lewis. “He was interested in engineering. He knew that was a big challenge because it involved a lot of math.”
Joseph Lewis, 23, will never get the chance to go back to school after he was fatally shot Aug. 25 in the 5000 block of South Winchester Avenue in the Back of the Yards community, authorities said.
Joseph Lewis was on his way to work when he was shot in the abdomen during a drive-by shooting, according to his father, who said his son tried to run away, but the attackers exited the vehicle and kept shooting.
Joseph Lewis was on his way to work when he was shot, according to his father, who believes gang members mistook his son for somebody else.
“This other kid and my son both looked like Sean Paul, and they resembled each other in height and stature,” Bernard Lewis said. “I’ve seen this kid before in the neighborhood going in and out of the stores. They were after him — not my son.”
When he wasn’t working, Joseph Lewis enjoyed singing and listening to rap music, his father said.
“He considered himself a wannabe rapper. He liked to take lyrics and twist them,” his father said. “I would be sleeping in the basement and he would be singing upstairs … I kind of chuckled to myself.”
Before taking the remodeling job, Joseph Lewis attended Tilden Career Academy High School, where he was an average student who made youthful mistakes, his father said.
Joseph Lewis / Photo from Facebook
“Joseph made mistakes in his younger life, but he was always raised right and found his religion in God and Christ,” his father said.
Bernard Lewis said he often talked with his son about his path in life.
“He liked the conversations we would have because it helped him make wise decisions along the way,” Bernard Lewis said. “Most of our conversations were about second chances, his moral values, principles, family matters and religious talks. He and I always had conversations, and this is one thing I will miss about him.”
In addition to his father, Joseph Lewis is survived by three brothers and four sisters. The family has been homeless the past two months after their home of 23 years caught fire, Bernard Lewis said.
“Joseph was a good kid, son, and had a good heart. He was just learning the philosophy of life and making wise decisions,” his father said.
Nobody has been charged for the Murder. Area Central detectives are investigating.