Photo credit: Denise Sanders
Lemuel “Arthur” Lewie Jr., one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, and his wife Reva Goodwin Lewie, a retired arts educator, just celebrated a beautiful milestone over the weekend – 70 years of marriage.
On August 28, 1948, the couple eloped and got married in a South Carolina courthouse. Now, seven decades later, Arthur, 98, and Reva, 88, have renewed their wedding vows with over 70 people bearing witness in Baltimore, Maryland.
“My granddaughter once asked me, ‘Grandma, where are the pictures of your wedding?,'” Reva told the Baltimore Sun. “I just told her, ‘There aren’t any, honey, we eloped!’ Today’s the first time we’ve had it all — the pictures, the reception, everything. It’s wonderful.”
Photo credit: Denise Sanders
After becoming a part of the first group of African American military aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces, Arthur met his then future wife Reva in the summer of 1947. Three days later, he proposed to her with his bombardier’s ring. The two went on to build a life together in Baltimore, where Arthur worked as a science teacher at Carver Vocational Technical High School for 28 years and Reva spent decades teaching art and art education for the Baltimore City Public schools.
“Let’s take a second to appreciate what 70 years of marriage looks like,” said their granddaughter, Christel Thompson, who is a captain in the U.S. Army. “(It means) 25,550 days, 13 presidents, five major U.S. wars,” and that the relationship is “older than the microwave oven, cellphones, video games, ATMs, Kevlar, GPS and pacemakers.”
Photo credit: Denise Sanders
With tears in his eyes, Arthur, who is the only Tuskegee Airmen unit member still living in Baltimore, said of his marriage at the end of their vow renewal: “I’d do it all over again.”
How beautiful is this?! Happy 70th anniversary to the Lewies!