10 years after

Family of medic killed in Oklahoma City bombing visits Tinker

By Amy Schiess
72^nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Trading tears for smiles, the family of a Tinker airman killed in the Oklahoma City bombing ten years ago traveled hundreds of miles to the base this week not to mourn her loss, but to celebrate her life.

More than 50 family members and friends of Airman 1^st Class LaKesha Levy made the trip from New Orleans to see where Levy worked, visit with those who knew her and be a part of the memorial activities in downtown Oklahoma City.

It is a trip Levy’s mother, Constance Favorite, has made before, nine years ago when an on-base memorial was dedicated to honor the memories of Levy and another Tinker airman killed in the bombing, Airman 1^st Class Cartney McRaven.

That day, Favorite stood with tears in hers eyes and listened to her daughter’s eulogy. This day, she stood in the same place, felt the familiar etching of her daughter’s name in granite, and smiled.

“I don’t think I could even say it in words what it meant to me to be here,” Favorite said. “And what it meant to me to share with you guys here at Tinker and all of my family and all of my friends. It’s just overwhelming.”

The memorial stands in a berm of carved earth, a 350-pound piece of granite from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building attached to the wall. It is engraved with an image of the building and the names of the Tinker airmen who were killed. A redbud tree, chosen for its mid-April bloom time, is planted nearby.

Some of Levy’s family members shared their feelings during a chapel service where the two Airmen were honored along with Norma Jean Johnson, a bombing victim and mother of Tinker employee, Angela Richerson.

While Levy’s family remembers the “high-spirited” girl with fondness, processing the enormity of tragedy of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing still seems difficult at times.

“I remember the last time I talked to her in ’95,” Levy’s grandfather, Julius Scott, said. “She laughed and told me how happy she was. Who would have thought such a thing could have happened? With God’s help, we will continue.”

During the service, one of Levy’s aunts, Hazel Sparrow, encouraged the family to rely on each other for strength. “Where there is unity, there is strength. We don’t know what would happen tomorrow, but we live from day to day. Whatever we do, let us all stay together.”

Chaplain (Capt.) David Del Prado encouraged chapel service attendees to “never forget the selflessness of these three great American women. We can give of ourselves to positively impact someone else’s future even after we are gone from this world as they did. We can continue practicing the zest for life they exemplified,” he said.

The family, including Corey Levy, Levy’s son, now 12, also visited the 72^nd Medical Group lab where Airman Levy worked. Tech Sgt. Kraig Scott worked with her at the time of her death and showed the family around the lab.

“She had a real spit-fire personality,” Sgt. Scott said. “She was always smiling and very driven in what she wanted to do.”

Scott remembers Corey Levy as a toddler looking for his mother in the medical group after she had died. “He would walk through the hallways like he was playing hide and seek, trying to find his mom.”

While Levy was only at Tinker about two months before the bombing, her personality made an impression on those around her. Her friends in the lab teased her that morning about making her late to her appointment at the Social Security office.

“We were going to hold her back and make her late, but she was bound and determined to go,” Sgt. Scott said. “If we had goofed off a few more minutes, she wouldn’t have been there.”

To honor the memory of Levy, the 72^nd Medical Group established the Airman 1^st Class LaKesha Levy Striving for Excellence Award. 

Col. Andrew Monteiro, 72nd Medical Group commander, described the award to the family as being one of their highest, given only to an Airman who has gone above and beyond in his or her unit and in community involvement.

This quarter’s recipient is Airman Ryan Conner. He was described as maintaining high quality and timeliness standards, guaranteed unit readiness and earned academic success by finishing 12 volumes of five-skill-level Career Development Courses.

Airman Conner is also a member of the Honor Guard and was selected as detail chief after four months. After Favorite helped Monteiro present the award, Monteiro presented her with framed coins from Levy’s squadron and group and a photo of the medical group building showing the Airman Levy Memorial Tree planted in front of it.

“She was a high achiever,” Favorite said of her daughter. “She would know she deserves all that.”