Lewis Henry Bugg Jr.

A few years ago, Lewis Henry Bugg Jr. looked at the sum total of his life and thought about those who he loved that had gone before him and remarked that he felt like the last leaf on a tree, left all alone after all of the others had surrendered to the approaching winter.

Henry’s winter came on January 22, 2023, when he died after a brief illness at the CarePartners Hospice Solace Center in Asheville, NC. He was 89 years old. Henry was preceded in death by his parents, Lewis Henry Bugg Sr. and Margaret Louise Rice Bugg, a sister, Annie Mae Bugg Herron, a wife, Shirley Ann Davis Bugg and two sons, Gary Henry Bugg and Christopher Guy Bugg.

Born on October 2, 1933, Henry was a member of what is now called “the Silent Generation”, but to his family, friends and anyone who ever met him he was far from silent. A lifelong resident of Asheville, NC, Henry was an enlisted member of the United States Air Force from 1952-1955 and stationed at the Ardmore Air Force Base in Ardmore, OK. Henry enjoyed his time there, but after his enlistment ended he returned back to his home. Henry spent his days working for the City of Asheville’s Parks and Recreation, but his source of income did not define who Henry was or what he meant to those around him. Instead, Henry will be remembered by those who knew him as a person who greeted everyone around him with a smile and a warm conversation. He loved spending his time talking with friends or in his younger days playing canasta.

Henry loved children. He loved his sons and the children that he coached in Little League Baseball. Everyone he met in this capacity remembers him as a caring and warm man who would do anything to help a person out. He took an active role in the lives of his sons, team members, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren’s lives. He believed in doing the right thing, even if it wasn’t the easy thing.

Henry is survived by his sons Daniel Lewis Bugg and Timothy Keith Bugg (Linda), grandchildren Nora Renee Bugg Jarmon (Roger), Jason Travis Bugg (Kera Jones), Sarah-Bettina Nicole Bugg Marquez, Taylor Riley Bugg and Emily Jordan Bugg, great-grandchildren Tori Bre’Anna Bugg (Christopher Bellows), Mateo Martinez (Laura Hensley), Erik Martinez, Grace Jarmon, and Louis Christopher Jones-Bugg, and great-great granddaughter Adriana Maria Martinez.

His family is saddened by his passing, but thankful for his love and compassion throughout his life. We remember not the last leaf on the tree, but rather the powerful roots of a tree that has grown far and wide. A poor kid from West Asheville with an eighth grade education whose children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have become entrepreneurs, educators, and professionals in many different fields. He was a simple and kind man, whose memory will be a blessing to so many.

A graveside service with US Air Force honors will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday, January 27, 2023, at French Broad Baptist Church Cemetery in Alexander, NC.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday at Groce Funeral Home, Patton Avenue.