— even at 95, Lewis has no intention of giving up farming

AT 95 years old, Wilfred Percival Lewis spends his spare time planting bora and spending quality time with his wife of 59 years, Sherah. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Friday at his Three and a Half Miles Bartica home, Lewis said the secret to a long life is happiness, love and good health.

Though he is currently not of his best, health wise, Lewis noted that he despises laziness.
“I am 95 years old, I was born in 1922 and I love to plant. I plant bora,” he told this publication, as he sat at the front of his home, looking through his front door.
“As soon as I am better, I will continue planting my bora,” he said. When asked why he plants only bora, Lewis said, “I just like to move around bora.” He also weeds and maintains his yard. His relatives told the Guyana Chronicle that despite their efforts to have him slow down, Lewis does not take heed.

Looking at the 95-year-old, one would assume he is about 75. The father of seven, five boys and two girls, said he was born and raised in the Pomeroon, Region Two, but migrated to Bartica in 1959, one year after he married Sherah, in search of betterment.
He explained that the sawmill business was ‘a big deal’ back in the 1950s and he capitalised on the opportunity.

“I met my wife in the Pomeroon and then through timber; we came to Bartica in 1959,” said Lewis, as he recapped his life in Bartica.
“Life in Bartica is quite… well, during my time, was sheer timber. The golden beach… all around was timber and sawmills. I worked with Winiperu, from 1960 to 1978,” Lewis recounted. The 95-year-old man also enjoys looking at football and cricket and has a love for boxing.

Lewis said though his favourite cricketers, Desmond Haynes, a former West Indian cricketer and Jack Hobbs, an English professional cricketer, are out of the limelight, he hopes that young cricketers can aspire to greatness as his favourite cricketers.
Meanwhile, when asked what his advice to youngsters would be, Lewis said, “The most things I see now is that they are lazy and greedy and that needs to stop.”

He acknowledged that it would be difficult to change those attributes easily, but believes efforts must be made to do so. “It is a serious thing to change,” he remarked, while chuckling and gazing lovingly at his 81-year-old wife.

The father of seven, who is one of the oldest residents of Bartica, said he enjoys a meal of provision with either salted fish or fried fish. Asked the secret to such a long and happy marriage, Lewis’ wife said, “It is God who is keeping us.

“I go to church; without God you can’t survive,” Sherah said, while adding, “peace and love in your heart” are critical to a successful marriage.