Lew Harper’s long lost sister wanting to have news of Lew and Barb Harper
Calling all Graniteville residents – Lew Harper’s sister, Pat and her daughter Sue, lost track of her brother Lew since 1954 and have been searching for him ever since. Please read the email below from Lew’s niece Sue and add comments to this post. They live in Plymouth in England.
The following is an email I received from Sue. Please add your memories and stories to the comments section.
My mum Pat is Lew’s sister, and the last of the line as far as we know. Lewis (or Peter as he was known to Mum) was the middle of 3 children, Mum being the eldest born in 1925, in Probus, Cornwall, then Lewis born in 1928 also in Probus. They had a younger brother Alan Samuel born in 1934 in Plymouth, of whom I can find no trace in official records – I wonder if he was adopted. It doesn’t matter how or where I search I draw a complete blank every time.
Things seemed to get really bad very quickly, after they came to Plymouth in 1933 – they all got separated into different orphanages in 1935 , and whlist there was some contact (yearly whilst they were children) and periodically as young adults, nothing was ever the same.
Mum last saw Lew in 1954 – he was in the Army then, and I think there were some letters after that (she knew that he rose to the rank of warrant officer) but contact stopped. She spoke of him often recalling their young lives and bitterly regretted their forced separation and the impact which it had on him.
We just want to know how his life panned out, was he happy and fulfilled and settled? We wonder when he came to America and why. Did he have the premature white hair which we all have and did he look like a Harper or a Miners (his Mothers maiden name)?
What did he and Barbara die of and how were their last days? (It sounds as though she would have had good support from her neighbours)
I only found out 4 days ago of his death through an internet search, though we had been searching for some time.I suppose we all assumed he would reach Mum’s age, and that we would find him alive and make contact.
We would love a copy of his writings which would give us a profound insight into the man he became, and any anecdotes and pictures about his life.
I cannot thank you enough for your email, and for putting me in touch with a wider audience. I look forward to hearing from you and learning more about Lew and Barbara’s life together. I will watch the website with interest.
With kind regards and best wishes
Sue Potter
Barb always crocheted the best blankets and throws. She used to donate them to the raffle every year for the 4th of July Fire Department fund raiser. We were lucky enough to win one so we have a red, white and blue one at our place. I think a lot of people in town have them.