The Lewises had four children together and fourteen grandchildren; son Andrew L. Lewis, III, died in infancy.

He became involved in politics through a friend, Richard S. Schweiker, for whom he managed successful campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S.

"[7] During the 1976 Republican presidential campaign, Lewis, as head of the powerful Pennsylvania delegation, had backed Gerald Ford, over challenger Ronald Reagan.

[citation needed] At the Republican convention, Reagan announced that if nominated he would name Richard Schweiker, Lewis' friend, as his running mate.

When the strikers defied Reagan's threat to fire them if they did not return to work, it was Lewis who announced their controversial en masse dismissal.

[1] Another milestone was the enactment of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, which included a gasoline tax increase and user fees to pay for improvements.

[8] In this role, he was also chairman of the WACCI subsidiary, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment Company (WASEC), which eventually became known as MTV Networks after a public offering in 1984.

In 1986, Lewis appeared at the commencement exercises of his alma mater, Haverford College, to be awarded an honorary doctorate degree.

After learning that a significant portion of the faculty of the Quaker college had opposed awarding him the honor because of his actions during the still-controversial air traffic controllers strike, he declined to accept the degree.