Former news anchor on KOMO television finds time to play much more golf in his retirement

A couple of days after he retired from his 27 years as news anchor at KOMO television in Seattle, Dan Lewis woke up and thought he had to get ready for work. But then he remembered something. He doesn’t work anymore.

At age 64 and many years in the television business, Lewis retired. He didn’t have to get out of bed, put on a suit and tie and head for Fisher Plaza in downtown Seattle. There would be no more newscasts. No more breaking stories.

This was now Dan time. And Dan time means more golf.

Golf now means more rounds at his home course at Sahalee Country Club and golf now means more road trips in his car. Lewis is the kind of guy who will jump into his car, drive hours to a golf course and get a tee time by himself. He’s done that at Bandon Dunes. He will do it wherever his car takes him.

On this day at Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club in Federal way, Lewis showed that he has game not only in front of the camera but also on the golf course. He carries an 11 handicap with a smooth swing that rarely misses the fairways. He did shoot a 86 on this day, and showed a tee game that was long at times, a short game with a good touch and a putter that was accurate.

Not bad for a guy who never seemed to find time to play golf, never having called in sick one day at KOMO and being told to take a vacation when he didn’t want to go.

News has always been a part of Lewis’ life. He grew up in Chicago and went to school at Southern Illinois. He’s worked at some big markets and left a news anchor job in Washington D.C. 27 years ago to take the job at KOMO. Since showing up to do the news in 1987, he never left. And he’s seen his share of big news stories and done some big interviews. In fact, Lewis was the first television reporter to interview President Clinton when he won election in 1992.

For 27 years people got used to Lewis . They welcomed him into their homes every night. Whether the news was good or bad, Lewis was always on his game. In 27 years he never took a sick day. Only once did he get sent home when the news director said he didn’t sound good because of a cold. Lewis did his job with professionalism and made sure he gave the impression that he enjoyed what he did. “I tried never to take myself too seriously,” Lewis said. He won 14 Emmys for his work at KOMO.

And about that hair. At age 64 Lewis has some of the best hair ever. It has turned gray through the years but never a strand out of place and plenty of it. There were jokes, in fact comedy show Almost Live did skits about Lewis’ hair. He even took part in one of the skits. “If I ever complained about my hair my bald friends would kill me,” he said. “God gave me good hair.”

It was a tough and emotional day when Lewis retired. People on the KOMO news set were emotional. Some teary eyed. Even Lewis himself teared up. He did eight radio interviews that day. “It was a little overwhelming,” said Lewis. “I never expected all of that outpouring.” The Seattle Mariners had him throw out the first pitch of their game on the Saturday after he retired. Lewis practiced his toss and thought he was ready. Instead, he bounced the pitch at the plate. “That killed me,” Lewis said.

Lewis will remember every day, every minute at KOMO. He misses his longtime anchor partner Kathi Goertzen who passed away in 2012. They spent 25 years together on the anchor desk. He will remember the big stories. The Oso landslide. The Pang Warehouse fire that killed four Seattle firefighters. The crash of the KOMO news helicopter that claimed the lives of two of his friends. But there were also the uplifting stories that always made his day.

He will one day do some special projects for KOMO but for now it’s about family and the golf. He gets to spend more time with his kids daughter Kristian and sons Dan Jr. and Tim. In fact, Tim is following in dad’s footsteps becoming a weekend sportscaster on KOMO.

Lewis knows that plenty of golf trips await. He’s been to Scotland and Ireland. He’s done the Bandon Dunes thing. He would like to work on that 11 handicap and get it down. He would like to beat his career round of 73 he shot at Sahalee a few years ago. There’s a lot to do. And now he has the time to do it.

“It’s strange not going to work everyday,” he said. “But that means more time for golf.”