Cover Story: Erica Lewis
MAY 2024 COVER STORY
STORY BY ZACHARY COHEN | PHOTOS BY NESTED TOURS
In Honor of Our Veterans
Over the past five years, Erica Lewis has skyrocketed up the local real estate rankings, quickly establishing herself as one of Oklahoma’s top real estate agents. Erica is proud of what she’s accomplished in real estate, but it’s not all that defines her. She is a proud mother of five who has survived a family tragedy to create the remarkable career she now enjoys.
“The number one thing I want to highlight is how beautiful my husband’s heart was,” Erica shares. “I believe that is shared among military members. He passed away on April 17, 2017, and his loss is still felt.”
In 2017, Erica faced a trifecta of challenges. She lost her husband on the same day she discovered she was expecting her fourth child and was simultaneously left to figure out a way to provide for her growing family. Rather than crumbling beneath the weight of grief and responsibility, Erica rose up, supported by her community and her commitment to her kids. Now, she is using her platform to raise awareness of the struggles our veterans face at home.
Filled With Grief
Tyrone Christopher Lewis, Jr. was born and raised in Clinton, OK. He had a lifetime goal of serving in the US military, so despite being an all-state football and baseball player and receiving several scholarship offers, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps to serve his country.
“He was so excited to serve,” Erica remembers.
Over the ensuing years, Tyrone had several deployments, first to Ground Zero and then to Afghanistan and Iraq. He returned home wounded in 2003 when he and Erica got married.
“I recognized there was something wrong,” Erica continues. “I called it the Nameless Disease. There was no name for it. He was just a Marine coming home after serving his country, getting married, and starting a family, but something was off.”
It turned out Tyrone had severe PTSD and a traumatic brain injury, both of which went untreated. In 2017, his struggles with both PTSD and TBI led him to take his own life.
“It’s a tough subject to talk about because there is so much negativity associated with suicide,” Erica shares. “The truth is, we lost him to his untreated PTSD and TBI wounds. When a Marine dies from their combat wounds on the battlefield at home, there is no fanfare. There are no gifts given by the government. It’s very isolating and very shameful because a lot of people don’t understand what our service people struggle with. We lose 22 active military and veterans a day to death by suicide.”
At the time of Tyrone’s passing, Erica had three young children and one more on the way. She had to discover how to provide for her family quickly. So, she pulled up her bootstraps and got to work.
Finding a Way
“I had pretty much nothing, but I was surrounded by my church family and my personal family. I realized I needed to find a way to make an income, so I enrolled in real estate school,” Erica explains.
Erica had interacted with the world of real estate in her former profession, and she had always imagined starting a career in real estate. She took classes while caring for a newborn, homeschooling three kids, and grieving her husband’s loss. In May 2019, she was officially licensed.
With the support of her mentor, Kia Johnson, Erica got off to a hot start in her new career. She secured a For Sale By Owner listing on day one and closed four homes in her first three months. By the end of 2019, she closed ten transactions.
Erica followed that up with 28 transactions in 2020 and over 65 transactions in each of the following three years. In 2021, she started a small team, the Erica Lewis Group at eXp Realty, which currently has three additional agents: Nona Kimberly Paige, Kimberly Ontiveros Reid, and Timothy Council.
So, what has been the key to Erica’s success? She says it’s all about having a driving purpose.
“My why is very important. It’s a driving factor. I did not have a choice but to find a way to produce resources to take care of my family,” she says.
Raising Awareness
Serving veterans and military members is also a primary part of Erica’s work. She knows their struggles all too well, so she does everything she can to support their efforts for stability, growth, and happiness. Helping those who have served use their VA loans to secure a home is one of her favorite things as a REALTOR®.
Outside of her role as a REALTOR®, Erica is committed to raising awareness of the challenges our veterans and active military members face. “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the price our post-war veterans face is huge,” she says. “PTSD affects the mind, the body, and the soul. We need whole-person healing. That’s important for the world to understand. When you’re working with veterans, it’s important to understand their experiences and their unique needs in the home buying and home selling process. One of my goals in life is to raise awareness and support for our veterans.”
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Family Spotlight
Erica now has five children: Tatum (8 months), Tahlia “HoneyChile” (6), Teaghan (14), Titus (16), and Tyrone (18). “That’s what I do outside real estate — spend time with my family. It’s so fun,” she beams.
