Lewis Sanders

Alvin Lewis Sanders, age 77, of Commerce, passed away Thursday, November 13, 2025 at Brookside of Commerce. Lewis was born in Athens, Georgia to the late Reagan and Margaret Lewis Sanders. A proud graduate of Commerce High School, Class of 1966, he loved the Tigers with his whole heart. He later served his country in the United States Marine Corps and retired from Sanders Furniture Co. in Commerce. He was a member of Red Oak Baptist Church in Fairburn.

Lewis never met a stranger. If you stood still long enough, you were sure to hear a story about the Georgia Bulldogs or the Commerce Tigers. He was famous for showing up to games in his custom Tiger coat — a one-of-a-kind creation that made him impossible to miss in any crowd.

Lewis liked to tinker and was always coming up with something. One of his favorite projects was making handmade wooden clocks with built-in calendars. He once tried to turn it into a little side business, but in true Lewis fashion, he ended up giving most of them away instead of selling them. If you received one, you knew you were special — especially because he usually made a whole ceremony out of presenting it. He made them in the little building next to the furniture store, affectionately known as “Lew’s Used.”

Lewis had endless stories, many of which he loved to tell — especially the time in the 1970s when he ran onto the field during a Braves game and shook hands with Hank Aaron. Or the Christmas when he hid all the family gifts and announced Santa had only brought presents for him. He made holidays fun, memorable, and full of laughter. He gave his nieces their first tricycles, organized family gift exchanges that included timed Walmart shopping sprees, and always showed up in his bright red pants he’d worn for decades.

A true sports and trivia enthusiast, Lewis was a collector of the wonderfully unusual — from soil he scooped from Herschel Walker’s high school field to a beer purchased at Billy Carter’s convenience store in Plains. For a time, he even had his own cable TV show and welcomed guests like Hall of Fame football player Charlie Trippi.

Lewis lived life to the fullest. He loved his family deeply, and he will be profoundly missed by all who knew him.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Diane Bartlett, and his second wife, Rosanne Carithers. Lewis is survived by his siblings Beth McWilliams, Marsha Perry, Pam Wiley (Donald), and David Sanders (Jennifer), all of Commerce; and by several nieces and nephews who adored him.

Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 16th at the chapel of Ivie Funeral Home, with interment to follow at Grey Hill Cemetery in Commerce. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 1:00–2:45 p.m. prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Coach Ray Lamb Scholarship Fund, c/o North Georgia Community Foundation, 340 Jesse Jewell Parkway, Suite 605, Gainesville, GA 30501. Online donations can be made at this link (https://ngcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=3938).