SCRANTON, Pa. — When Maureen Williamson married her husband Lew 45 years ago, she didn't know she was signing up for a life as Scranton's Mrs. Claus.
But, Lew's hair started turning white in high school, and he was always good with kids. So, Maureen said, while he was a wonderful husband and father, Santa Claus is the role he was born to play.
"I was his secretary, and every year I would say, 'I ain't doing this no more.' And you know, we went one time to a house, and it was just going on and on, and I said, 'I am so glad you don't look like the Easter Bunny!'"
Lew answered a newspaper ad in 1993 to become the Mall at Steamtown's first Santa Claus, and he never looked back. He was at the end of the Santa Parade each year and became Scranton's most prolific of St. Nick's helpers.
He did it with a magic that convinced both kids and skeptical grown-ups that he was the real thing.
Lew went into the hospital at the beginning of December and learned he had COVID-19. Maureen told Newswatch 16 it was a daily roller coaster as his condition slowly worsened, and his family was unable to be by his side.
Lew Williamson died Monday after fighting the virus for more than a month.
"Christmas is, for me right now, because it's way too soon for me to even think about it, will never be the same because it's like bittersweet. We had so many awesome years, and then the worst year was the year I lost him," she said.
Lew would shave his beard on Christmas Eve each year and be unrecognizable until he had to grow it out again. Over the years, it became more difficult to decide which Lew was wearing the disguise.
He's being remembered as the embodiment of the Christmas spirit.
"People are sending me stories that I didn't know, and for me, it's a little bit of peace and happiness that this is the man he was, and this is who everybody knew. He's made a legacy for his children and his grandchildren," Maureen said. "I think he will never be forgotten by all these people, and that gives me peace."