ORTHOPEDICS VISIONARY, LEW BENNETT, DIES AT AGE 87 (Orthopedics This Week)
Lew Bennett, one of the founders of Howmet (later Howmedica Corporation, later part of Stryker Corporation) and a senior executive at Sofamor Danek (now Medtronic, Inc.), Smith &Nephew plc, NuVasive, Inc., SpineMedica Corp., Custom Spine, Inc., board member of HydroCision, Inc., and one of the most beloved veterans of the orthopedic industry, passed away on August 15, 2013. In his wake he leaves a long trail of patients, co-workers and friends made better by his having passed through their lives.
Lew was born in Nashville, Tennessee on, December 17, 1926. Lew attended West High School and went on to marry his grade school sweetheart, Betty Gene Boone, in Nashville in 1947.
He was always driven to succeed, and early on bought a “house in an area that we couldn’t afford.” One Sunday Lew saw his neighbor drinking whiskey and grilling steaks. He strolled over and introduced himself. “What is your name? I’m Lew Bennett. He said, ‘My name’s Jim Thompson.’ He told the man, “Jim, you don’t look a lot different than I do, but you are living a lot better than I am.” The man started laughing and Lew said, “What do ...
