His memorial service was held today in his adopted city.
Only last week Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton called Lewis to wish him a speedy recovery.
Lewis was a Manchester lad who played for Manchester Boys in 1948 alongside future United star Dennis Viollet.
"Eddie was a bubbly character and an astute, clever forward who was destined to make it as a footballer," recalls Eric Mallender, a Manchester City scout who was a team-mate at Manchester Boys.
Lewis featured in United's first FA Youth Cup winning side of 1953. By that time he'd already been promoted to the first team and enjoyed a dream start in November 1952, aged just 17.
He scored seven minutes into his debut at West Brom although three Albion goals in the second half spoiled the day a little. But Lewis went on to score nine goals in 11 games in his first season.
The arrival of Tommy Taylor from Barnsley limited his first-team chances and with competition from Charlton, Viollet and Liam Whlean, Lewis joined Preston for £10,000 in December 1955.
He stayed at Deepdale for less than a year before moving to West Ham, scoring 15 goals in 36 appearances to help the Hammers win promotion to Division One.
Career
He then moved to Leyton Orient, where he enjoyed a six-year spell where he switched to full-back and helped them reach the First Division for the first time in 1962. He later played and managed in non-League football.
Emigrating to South Africa in 1970, he sold insurance before enjoying a successful coaching career with Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows, Wits University, Highlands Park and others.
"He was my coach at Wits and responsible for me getting into professional football," said former Reds keeper Gary Bailey.
"He was delighted that it was at Manchester United because he never stopped talking about United.
"He always told me that his greatest moments in football were playing with the Busby Babes and it hurt him badly when he left for Preston. He then had his heart broken when he lost many of his friends in the Munich air disaster."
Bailey worked with Lewis in TV, where he had a reputation for forthright opinions delivered in a pronounced Mancunian accent.
"Eddie became an important figure in the history of South African football as a coach, and at a challenging time," said Ian Hawkey, author of Feet Of The Chameleon: The History Of African Football.
"He was popular with fans of all colours and did his bit to break down barriers imposed on the sport by Apartheid by committing himself to football in the townships in the 1970s."
Ignoring Apartheid laws, Lewis coached a white team (Wits) and a black team (Chiefs).
"We trained next to each other and he'd take one session after another," recalls Bailey. "The police didn't like a white man coaching a black team and came to have a word. We thought Eddie would get in trouble, but he was very firm as he told the police officer: 'I'm a football man, not a political man. I see footballers, not the colour of their skin'."
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