Lewis A. Dokmo

Lewis A. “Lew” Dokmo, longtime resident of Amherst, died at home on May 5, 2018, after a long, courageous battle with glioblastoma.

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 3, 1946, to Lorentz and Lucille (Tillman) Dokmo, Lew spent his childhood in Wood Dale, a suburb of Chicago. He graduated with honors from St. Olaf College in Minnesota with a double major in math and chemistry.  After college, Lew earned a graduate degree in Computer Science from the University of Maryland while working for the National Security Agency. He also served in the Army Reserve.

Lew met his wife, Cynthia, in Maryland, and they married in 1970.  They were the proud parents to three sons, Aaron, Nate and Jed.  The family moved to Amherst in 1979, when Lew began working for Sanders Associates.  In 1995, Lew co-founded Impact Science and Technology, which was bought out in 2006 after it became a very successful company. He retired a few years later, in 2008, and never regretted that decision.

Lew devoted his retirement to volunteering, golf, basketball, travelling and family. He worked as an AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteer and coordinator for many years. He immersed himself as a Board member of the Souhegan Valley Boys and Girls Club, serving as President for a time. His significant contributions to the club were recognized when presented with the first Champion of Youth Award, which was renamed The Lew Dokmo Champion of Youth award in his honor.

Lew was an outstanding golfer, playing many rounds at his home course the Amherst Country Club.  While typically modest about his ability, Lew nevertheless was one of the top golfers at the club, and in 2009 won both the Club Championship and the Senior Club Championship, and repeated the Senior Championship in 2014. Family vacations always included a few rounds of golf, with Cynthia, doing the game a favor by not playing but driving the golf cart.

In addition to golf, Lew kept in shape by officiating boys and girls basketball at the junior high and high school levels, as a sanctioned IOBBA member.

A life-long Chicago Cubs fan, he was thrilled when they finally won the World Series in 2016. And, win or lose, he remained loyal to his Minnesota Vikings.

In 2009, Lew became a grandfather.  Little brought him more joy than spending time with his grandchildren, and the feeling was mutual; they adored “Papa Lew” and were inseparable whether reading a book, traveling, or making pancakes on Sunday mornings.

It is impossible to capture his essence in a few short paragraphs, but his niece Lisa said it best when she wrote that Lew was the model of what a good man should be. Lew was funny, kind, and humble.  He was warm, compassionate, and loving. He was intelligent, hard working, and dependable. Despite all his success, he was unassuming and unpretentious. Lew’s integrity and strength of character were unparalleled.  Also without match was his recollection of good (and not so good) puns and jokes.  Lew was a loving brother, husband, father, and grandfather, and he will be missed terribly by all that were fortunate enough to know him.

Family members include his wife, Cynthia of Amherst; his son, Jed of Bedford; his son, Aaron, and Aaron’s spouse Hilja, granddaughter Maia, and grandson Henry, all of Boston, MA; and sister, Pauline, of Gig Harbor, WA, and his brother, Charlie, of Colorado Springs, CO, and nephews, nieces, and cousins across the U.S.A. He was predeceased by his son, Nate, who died in 2015.

Memorial visiting hours are on Tuesday, May 15th from 4:00-8:00 pm in the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford, NH. A Celebration of Life will be held at The Amherst Country Club on Saturday evening, June 9, 2018. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in his honor to the Souhegan Valley Boys and Girls Club, PO Box 916, Milford, NH 03055 or to the Nate Dokmo Scholarship Fund, NHCF, 37 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH 03301. Arrangements are in the care of Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please go to www.smith-heald.com.