Lewis Willard Billups, 85, died Wednesday July 26, 2017 at his home in Arnold, Maryland following a brief illness.

He leaves his wife of 50 years, Gladys (Rori) Billups, his brother-in-law, George Rori; his nephew Hadrian Rori and his wife Laurie, and their three children; and many friends and neighbors.

Lew was born in Brookville, Florida, the son of Gordon and Clarice (Holder) Billups, on February 3, 1932.

Upon graduating from Landon High School, Lew entered the United States Air Force in 1949 where he served in Korea and was honorably discharged in 1955. Upon completing his military service, Lew used the GI Bill to attend Florida State University and graduated with a degree in geology. During his early working years and throughout college, Lew worked for Pan Am World Airways at the Guided Missile Tracking Station in the Bahamas.

With his newly obtained geology degree, Lew started his career working on oil exploration crews in Louisiana, Montana and Abu Dhabi. After two years in the oil business, the travel bug had a full hold on Lew. Lew subsequently landed his dream job to ensure that he would see the world. In 1962 Lew began his career as a diplomatic courier carrying classified US Diplomatic documents across international borders to every US foreign post in the world. His diplomatic career had him traveling the world while based in Germany, the Philippines and Panama from 1962-1970. The years of travel gave him an uncanny ability to describe, in full detail, every airport and every country he visited during his time in the diplomatic service. Many people (young and old) would try to name a country trying to stump Lew and it's fair to say, no one was ever successful!

With his diplomatic courier career coming to a close, Lew's next venture took him to the Maryland area where he established a furniture refinishing and rehabilitation business. During this time, he painstakingly spent time restoring not only peoples' treasures, but also working on various historical pieces at The

National Cathedral in Washington DC and the Franciscan Monastery in Washington DC.

Never one to rest, Lew's next venture was to pursue his other love……history and his deep affection for the city of Annapolis. In 1992, Lew joined Three Century Tours and dressed in colonial attire, he gave historical tours of the city to school children, tourists, family and friends. Lew worked with Three Centuries, walking the streets of Annapolis in colonial period attire until 2010 and never missed an opportunity to share an interesting fact or historical insight.

Upon retiring from Three Centuries in 2010, Lew continued to pursue his hobbies and was always willing to lend a helping hand to a neighbor, refinish a piece of furniture, work in his yard or happily play with his favorite dogs, Maggie, Sophie, Lucy, Jake and Ruby. He made fast friends with all 4-legged creatures by always having a cookie or biscuit in his pocket to give them a special treat.

Orphaned at an early age, Lew later established a relationship with his two sisters, Mary Davis and JonAnne Fortson, who preceded him in death. He was also preceded in death by his brother and sister in law, William and Filomena Rori.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to Hospice of the Chesapeake for all of the extraordinary services they provide to the citizens of Anne Arundel County at 90 Ritchie Highway, Pasadena, MD 21122.

A memorial mass will be held on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at 10 am at St. John the Evangelist Church, 689 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, Maryland.

Online condolences may be made at www.barrancofuneralhome.com