Where Are They Now?

Curtis Lewis was once a police officer in Dublin, until, in 2014, he went to prison on a drug charge. “I would like to apologize to the citizens of Dublin for letting them down,” Lewis said. “I was in a leadership role there and I made the wrong decisions, and that bothers me daily.”

Now more than seven years sober, Lewis spends most of his free time volunteering with twelve step programs or other initiatives to help people struggling with addiction in his community. “That’s my responsibility,” he said.

Lewis is a member of the Dublin High School class of 1989, but he left school two years early and got married. His first job out of high school was as an animal control officer for the City of Dublin.

In that job, he got to know some first responders, such as emergency medical technicians, and thought he’d like to learn more. Then, in 1991, something happened that gave Lewis the motivation he needed to become an EMT.

One day when Lewis was at church, his son, Curtis Lewis Jr., was playing in the water in the baptistery and fell in. “When I found him, he was clinically dead,” said Lewis. “I didn’t know CPR. But Steven Pepper, a man that’s in Dublin now, had just finished EMT school, and my mother in law at the time, Ruby Tucker, was a nurse, and they were able to do CPR and revive him.”

“Because someone was prepared in there, and by the grace of God, my son is alive today,” he said. “That was in February. In April, I was enrolled in a EMT class. I did not ever want to be unprepared for a situation like that again.”

Once he had his license, he went straight to work for the city again. “It worked out great because I was already on city payroll,” he said.

Lewis worked as an EMT for a few years before, in 1994, he decided to enroll in the police academy. When he graduated, he started part time at the Dublin Police Department as a reserve officer. In March of 1995, he came on full time.

He went back to reserve until 2004, balancing his police work with a job as a maintenance supervisor at a nursing facility, as well as a construction job. In 2005, Lewis traveled to New Orleans to help out in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He worked there for two years. “That’s when I got on drugs,” he said. “Drugs are a trap — don’t get involved. I became addicted, and picked up a first degree felony charge in 2012.”

In 2014, he was sentenced to 30 years, but was granted parole after three. “I got out August the 15th of 2017 and was paroled to Henderson County, Texas which is actually where I was born,” he said.

There, in Athens, Texas, Lewis began working for a landscaping and irrigation company, and obtained his state irrigation license. “After three years, I started my own business, Lewis Irrigation Solutions, LLC,” he said.

The business has three fulltime employees. They work on irrigation in new and existing homes, and maintain existing systems, as well as building fences. Several of the people he works with are also in recovery. “A lot of my guys are from a three-quarter sober living house, and we help them in maintaining sobriety,” he said.

Lewis also volunteers to help people struggling with addiction. He works with a local faith based twelve step program called Call to Recovery, and preaches the gospel in prisons and jails to help people find hope after incarceration.

He even met his second wife, Karianne, in a twelve step program. “She was working with spouses of [people struggling with addiction] and how to have proper relationships with him, and that’s how he met.

He and Karianne still live in Athens. Lewis has four children from a previous marriage, all of whom live in the Dublin and Stephenville area. His oldest son, Curtis, is now 34, Toni Marie is 32, Amber is 30, and Laura Mae is 27.

When he gets some time off from his work and volunteer commitments, Lewis enjoys getting outside and going camping. He also attends church at Life Fellowship in Athens.

Throughout his life, Lewis’ greatest challenge has been his struggle with addiction. “I’ve destroyed my life and I destroyed my family’s life with addiction, and I broke things that I can’t repair on my own,” he said.

He still leans heavily on his faith to help him through the rough patches.

Lewis’ advice to Dublin graduates is to focus on their goals. “Put your goals before you and don’t let anything distract you – drugs, alcohol, relationships,” he said. “Follow your goals, because they are obtainable.”

Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@ dublincitizen.com.