Gloria Julienne Lewis Evans, Julian Herman Lewis Jr., and John Overton Lewis
Eva Overton Lewis and Julian H. Lewis, MD, PhD had three children: Gloria Julienne Lewis born in 1920, Julian Herman Lewis Jr. born in 1921, and John Overton Lewis born in 1928.
Early Life
The Lewis children spent their childhoods between Chicago, IL with their parents and Cairo, IL with their paternal grandparents, Cordelia and John.
Close in age, Gloria and Julian Jr. both attended Chicago Public Schools. They took piano lessons and graduated from Englewood High School together in 1938.
From 1926-1927 while Julian was in Europe conducting research for the Guggenheim, Eva, Gloria, and Julian Jr. lived in Paris. One year after returning to the states, John was born.
Lewis, Eva Overton and Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD Collection, [Box 10, Folder 11], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Two photos of Gloria and Julian Jr. In the first photo, they are sitting side-by-side on the front door steps of a home. In the second photo, they are running down a road.
Lewis, Eva Overton and Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD Collection, [Box 5, Folder 21], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Lewis, Eva Overton and Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD Collection, [Box 5, Folder 30], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Lewis, Eva Overton and Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD Collection, [Box 10, Folder 35], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Lewis, Eva Overton and Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD Collection, [Box 10, Folder 16], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
V. Henry studio portrait of Julian Jr. and Gloria when they were living in Paris, France, 1927.
Time with Paternal Grandparents
In 1931, Eva fell ill and with Julian working at the University, the children were sent to Cairo to be with their grandparents. While the children were in their care, Cordelia wrote to Eva and Julian often with touching updates, hopeful wishes for Eva’s recovery, and reassurance about the children’s well-being. Gloria and Julian Jr. also wrote to their parents regularly and sent postcards. This allowed them to share how they were doing, ask for gifts and other items they needed, create fun drawings, and practice writing. Although John was still quite young at this time, there are instances of him writing short notes at the end of Gloria’s letters.
Time with their grandparents was spent doing familiar childhood activities: going to church, going swimming, playing outdoors, and going to school.
![Group photo of the Lewis children sitting with their grandparents on front steps. Cordelia O. Lewis and John C. Lewis are in the back row, and the children are seated in the front [left to right]: Gloria Lewis, John O. Lewis, and Julian Lewis Jr.](/media/images/Box_10_Folder_26_USE_yJOluFA.original.png)
Lewis, Eva Overton and Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD Collection, [Box 10, Folder 26], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Lewis, Eva Overton and Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD Collection, [Box 10, Folder 29], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Lewis, Eva Overton and Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD Collection, [Box 4, Folder 7], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Page 1 of a letter from Gloria to her parents, Eva and Julian, talking about how things are going in Cairo, Illinois with her grandparents. Her brother, John, wrote at the end of the note.
Lewis, Eva Overton and Julian Herman Lewis, MD, PhD Collection, [Box 4, Folder 6], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Page 1 of a letter from Julian Lewis, Jr. to his mother, Eva Overton Lewis, sharing how things are going in Cairo, Illinois with his grandparents.
Adulthood
As adults, Gloria, Julian Jr., and John went on to live successful lives. Each of them married and had children.
Gloria attended Chicago Teachers College and later, Loyola University in the 1950s where she studied English. She worked as an employment counselor and ran a successful sewing business in Hyde Park called the Sewing Circle.
Julian Jr. raised his family in New York City, and he had a successful career as an executive in retail.
John earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1955 and immediately joined the U.S. Army Corps and the Illinois National Guard as a structural engineer. He then established John O. Lewis and Company, Engineers and General Contractors in 1962. John and his wife, Edna M. Thurmond, created the Overland Development Corporation in 1985.
