Family and friends of Portland attorney Joe Lewis congregated at the intersection of India and Fore streets on Sunday afternoon to honor Lewis with a “love bomb” at the spot where he died after being struck by a car while crossing the street earlier this month.
About two dozen people joined hands to share memories of Lewis, and spray-painted hearts and messages in the crosswalk. They tied yellow ribbons around posts and placed yellow flowers, a reminder of Lewis’ love for the forsythia blooms that color Portland in the spring. Their matching t-shirts featured a branch of forsythia and the name “Joe.”
Lewis, 61, died after being hit by a car on the afternoon of Jan. 3 in the Old Port. He was walking back to his office on Moulton Street when the driver of an SUV that had just turned onto India Street struck him, causing a severe head injury.
Portland police later confirmed that Lewis died after he was taken to the hospital. A spokesperson for the department said the driver, whom officials identified as a 69-year-old woman, would not face charges at the time.

Maryellen Sullivan, wife of attorney Joe Lewis, paints a silver heart at the intersection where Lewis was fatally struck while walking in a crosswalk earlier this month. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald
Lewis is remembered by his loving family, including his wife, Maryellen Sullivan, and their children. In addition to his daughter Mackenzie Lewis, 27, and son Anthony Lewis, 29, he thought of Sullivan’s children, 29-year-old Ellison Sullivan Etnier and 27-year-old Emma Sullivan Etnier, as his “bonus” kids.
Sullivan described her husband as a “supernova.”
“I wish I could bend time and instead of whatever pain he felt, he was feeling this,” she told the gathered crowd on Sunday.

Friends and family of attorney Joe Lewis hold one another as they share remembrances during a “love bomb” event at the intersection where Lewis was fatally struck while walking in a crosswalk. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald
Sullivan said the family has established a fund at the University of Maine School of Law, where Lewis attended law school. They hope to get a classroom named in his honor and are encouraging people to donate in Lewis’ name.
Mackenzie Lewis said her dad had a “giant heart and brain and wit.”
“It was always my absolute joy and delight to watch him with people and just feel so much pride that he was my dad,” Mackenzie Lewis said.
With Sunday’s memorial, Mackenzie Lewis said she hoped to turn the intersection — which her dad crossed every day while walking from home to work — into a place of light, rather than dark.
Lewis was a family attorney at Port City Legal, where he worked with his wife.

Ellison Etnier, stepson (or “bonus son”) of attorney Joe Lewis, paints a red heart at the intersection where Lewis was fatally struck while walking in a crosswalk earlier this month. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald
Born in Evansville, Indiana, Lewis built a geographic information system company in New York City before settling in Portland in 1999. He earned his law degree from the University of Maine School of Law in 2010 and started Port City Legal.
Lewis’ co-workers at Sunday’s gathering said he made work a happy and welcoming place.
“Every day at Port City Legal was like walking into your living room at home,” said Terri Stevens, a paralegal at Port City Legal.
Stevens said Lewis saw the people he worked with as “teammates,” rather than employees.
“I just started working there in September, and I said, ‘What time do people get into the office?’ and he said, ‘Some people get here at 8, some people get here at 11. They do their best whenever they show up,'” said Mollie Rutz, an attorney at Port City Legal.
In his biography on the Port City Legal website, Lewis was described as a “fighter by nature” who loved Portland’s beauty, people, culture and cuisine. He loved spending time at Scarborough Beach and traveling to Downeast Maine and Quebec City.
Lewis was laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland, where his family said he enjoyed walks with his children and their dog. Those looking to express condolences can visit the website for the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home.
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