NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Shanita Eure-Lewis was a vibrant woman and a loving mother, daughter, sister, and friend, loved ones said at a service of illumination Saturday. They're honoring Eure-Lewis after her killer was sentenced to life in prison Friday.
"She was my friend. I miss her every single day of my life," Alisha Foster told a crowd full of people wearing Eure-Lewis's favorite colors of green, ivory, and gold.
She loved her family and church family, remembered Foster.
She was the glue that held everyone together, added Eure Lewis's sister.
"Shanita was a person who exhibited and displayed love at all times. She was humble, she was meek, she was generous, she was outgoing, she was self-driven. And I would just encourage people to embark and embrace those characteristics because when doing so your light will forever illuminate," said Eure-Lewis's sister Shenique Bethea.
Everyone agreed Eure-Lewis's life had just begun to unfold when she disappeared.
On July 17, 2022, she spoke to a congregation at Gethsemane Baptist Church in Newport News. That day she stopped home between services and has never been seen again.
Her body's never been found but a Newport News jury found her husband, Adrian Lewis, guilty of first-degree murder. It's the first murder conviction without a body in the city and one of just a handful in Virginia history. Evidence presented at trial showed Adrian Lewis tracked his wife's movements after she asked for a divorce. Prosecutors said he shot her before trying to leave the country. Adrian Lewis was handed a life sentence Friday.
"Even with what happened yesterday, we're still left with an unanswered question. Where is she?" said Bishop Dwight S. Riddick, Sr.
There's now a void left in the lives of many.
"We must so acknowledge that God has so created us with the capacity no matter how difficult life might be we can still live and thrive with so much we do not know," said Bishop Riddick.
Eure-Lewis's friends and family said the "extravagant giver with a kind heart" will lead them forward as they continue to pursue good.
"We're still mourning but we're ready to heal. And with that I mean we're ready to find out what we need to do in the community to triumph over situations like these," said Bethea.
They're praying one day she'll be brought home to rest.
