Lewis “Doc” Bybee, 86, of Sweet Springs, MO, died Monday, December 15, 2025, at the Good Shepherd Care Community in Concordia, MO.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 23, 2025, at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Emma with Pastor Paul Rempfer officiating. Burial with military rites will follow at the church cemetery. Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday at Campbell-Lewis Funeral Home in Concordia. In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Forty & Eight Flags for 1st Graders, or Sweet Springs Ambulance District. An online guestbook is available at www.campbell-lewis.com.
Born on March 17, 1939, in Brownington, MO, Lewis was the son of the late Jesse Earl and Dovie (Huskey) Bybee. He was the second-oldest of five children.
Lewis attended school in Deepwater, MO, graduating in 1957. After high school, he attended the University of Missouri, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in 1961. During this time, he fell in love with Alma Cherryl Myers of Edina, MO, and they married in May of 1961. He then returned to the University of Missouri Veterinary School, graduating in May of 1965 as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. While in school, he welcomed his daughter, Shari, who was born in February of 1961.
Following graduation, Lewis began practicing veterinary medicine before being drafted into the United States Army. After his service, he returned in 1968 and opened Bybee Veterinary Clinic in Sweet Springs, MO. What Lewis enjoyed most about veterinary practice was the people he met and helped along the way.
In 1967, he met and married Dorothy Anson; they later divorced in 1970. During this time, his son Daniel was born in 1969. On June 24, 1972, Lewis married Janice Lohman of Sweet Springs, MO, at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. They were blessed with another son, Brett, born in 1974.
After closing his veterinary practice in 1985, Lewis transitioned from caring for four-legged animals to helping two-legged people and became a paramedic. He eventually served as Director of the Sweet Springs Ambulance District until 1991 and continued working as a paramedic at Golden Valley Memorial Hospital until 1999. In 1999, Lewis began a new chapter as a USDA meat inspector, retiring in 2002.
Lewis spent his free time serving his community as a member of the Forty & Eight and by presenting flags through the Flags for First Graders Program. He was proud of his sobriety and would have celebrated 45 years in January. Lewis was also a devoted member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, the Thursday morning men’s Bible class, the Lions Club, and the American Legion.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Janice (Lohman) Bybee; his siblings: Mary Crosswhite, Robert Bybee and wife Carol, Ronald Bybee and wife Jean; his children: Shari Taylor, Daniel Bybee, and Brett Bybee and wife Jackie; his grandchildren: Anne, Kirk, Javan, Halia, Damon, and Ace; one sister-in-law, Norma Boyer; and numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, and his first wife, Cherryl, Lewis was preceded in death by one brother, William Bybee.