Brunswick County Commissioners vote to name courthouse in Judge Ola Lewis’ honor

BOLIVIA, NC (WWAY) — In a 4 to 1 vote Monday night, the Brunswick County Commissioners voted to rename the courthouse in honor of the late Judge Ola Lewis.

Judge Lewis served Brunswick County for more than 20 years, the youngest appointed judge in state history and the longest serving female judge in North Carolina.

After a long battle with cancer, Judge Lewis died in December 2019. She was selected to Lie in Repose in the courthouse after her death and hundreds showed up to pay their respects.

She is remembered for upholding law and order in Brunswick County, for being a woman who believed in second chances.

Lewis helped many overcome addiction and is credited by many for changing their lives.

Lifelong friends of Lewis’ were present at Monday’s meeting, saying they felt triumphant knowing she would be honored this way.

“I think it’s so fitting that Brunswick County has rewarded her works,” Jwantana Frink said.

“The commissioners made this decision and I want to thank them for having this on the agenda and to make the decision that they made,” Althea Dixon Weaver said. “They recognize her lifelong work, her vision and her passion for helping people.”

Lewis’ husband, Reginald Holley, shared the following statement:

“My late wife, the Honorable Ola M. Lewis was a woman of tremendous grace. Though she used her abilities as a judge to protect law and order in Brunswick County, more importantly, she used the court as an opportunity to change lives for the better. Her court helped countless men and women form new path that took them away from the clinches of addiction, brokenness, and recidivism, to instead lead productive, sober, and law-abiding lives.

Transforming lives otherwise neglected by our turbulent world is not a trivial task. Ola did this with uncompromising energy, intellect, and spirit. Her love for the people of Brunswick County was unparalleled, and she was always seeking ways to use her bench to serve the whole community. Like many great people, Ola was a bold leader, and she served the people of Brunswick County with humility and grace.

For the Brunswick County Courthouse to be renamed after my wife is much more than a gesture–it is both a beacon and a talisman– a reminder in perpetuity of the love Judge Lewis had for the community to which she was tirelessly devoted. As the youngest appointed judge in the state’s history, who served the longest of any female judge in North Carolina, her life was committed to serving the people of Brunswick County.

My family and I are humbled by the decision of the Brunswick County Commissioners. We will never cease to remember her ability to recognize the potential and humanity of each person, and how that ability changed so many lives.”