LEWISTON — Dr. Lewis L. Incze, 97, died peacefully at his Lewiston home, July 8, after a brief illness.

He was born in Parajd, Transylvania, Jan. 5, 1915, of Székely (Hungarian) nobility, a son of Lajos and Erzsebet (Biro) Incze. He studied at Székelyudvarhely and Marosvásárhely colleges (1927 to 1934), took the baccalaureate examination for B.S. degree at Torda (1934), and obtained his doctor’s degree from the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Kolozsvár University (1940).

He was a published poet at age 14; a writer of novels, science, and literary essays for three magazines, author of an ethnographic book of his native town, member of the Hungarian National Guild of Journalists (1940 to 1945), and on the staff of two daily newspapers, morning and afternoon, of Kolozsvár. He did military service with the Hungarian Huszárs and was Commander of a military radio station at the Royal Hungarian General Staff (1943 to 1945).

After the war, he joined a transit unit of the British 8th Army in Austria (1945) and transferred to the Rome Area Allied Command as interpreter (1945 to 1947). When the Allies evacuated Italy, he joined the International Refugee Organization (IRO) as medical secretary in Naples (1948 to 1949). He immigrated to the USA in 1949, and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in Auburn in 1953.

He worked as college librarian in West Baden, Ind., and secretary in Springfield, Ill., (1950). On invitation, he joined St. Mary’s General Hospital (presently Medical Center), Lewiston, where he organized a nationally accredited hospital-based medical X-Ray School (1950) and was its director until his retirement in 1980. Soon after his arrival at St. Mary’s, he met Helen A. Gastonguay. They were married Sept. 8, 1951, and began a life-long partnership of love and adventure. They had four sons, Lewis Stephen, Daniel Zoltán, Michael László and Bruce Imre.

He was a regular contributor to the Lewiston Journal Magazine for more than 30 years (from 1951 until the magazine’s cessation in 1986) with sailing adventure stories and travel articles, and a contributor to the French newspaper, “Le Messager” until its end.

After his retirement, he wrote more than 30 books. His writings are preserved on the Internet and in several prestigious libraries in Europe and the United States.

He was member of Árpád Academy of Arts, Literature, and Sciences, Cleveland, Ohio; the American PEN Club; the late Maine Sociological Society; the United States Chess Federation, and several professional associations. He was a founding member of the Maine Society of Radiological Technologists, served two terms as president, and was elected a life member. He taught Sociology at St. Mary’s School of Nursing and The University of New England. The Árpád Academy awarded its gold medal for literature to his book Footprints on Destiny Lane (1982).

Photography was his lifelong passion: he had on file roughly 50,000 pictures and for many years was a judge at photographic exhibits throughout the state.

As digital photography became available, he embraced it with enthusiasm, and with his computer chronicled the growth and adventures of the family. The sea became a precious part of his life. Though he came from a landlocked country, he became an avid sailor and cruised the Maine and Massachusetts coasts. Between sea-adventures he relished long relaxing stays at his beloved cottage, Tengerlak (“Ocean Home”) on Inner Brother Island in Casco Bay.

He was a member of Holy Family Parish, now a component of the consolidated Prince of Peace Parish of Lewiston and Auburn (2009).

He is survived by a large extended family in his native Transylvania and in Budapest, Hungary.

In the United States, he is survived by his wife, Helen, with whom he had been married more than 60 years; four sons, Lewis and wife, Liz, Daniel, Michael and wife, Cindy and Bruce and wife, Diane; eight grandchildren; and many friends around the world, and countless students.

All will miss him; all will remember him for his remarkable intellect, energy, generosity, and thoughtful outlook on the world.

Condolences and a photo tribute may be accessed online at www.albert-burpee.com.