North Carolina couple Cassie and Ryan Lohrey had only been married one month when tragedy struck the newlyweds on July 10, 2017.
Ryan, a Hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy, died tragically in a plane crash while training in Mississippi. Cassie says she was “in shock” when she first got the news.
“We were just getting our life started together. We wanted a family. We had so many plans and they were just left unfinished.”
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But in the midst of her grief and heartache, Cassie got an unexpected token of joy from her late husband.
Just weeks after Ryan’s death, Cassie learned she was pregnant with the couple’s first child.
“I’m very excited and happy to have a piece of him left with me for the rest of my life,” she says. “I knew he wouldn’t leave me alone. I’m overwhelmed with joy and [gratitude].”
As most mothers do these days, Cassie decided to have a gender reveal party. And in honor of her late husband, she held the event on Veteran’s Day.
Enlisting the help of 16 service members who were friends with Ryan, Cassie made this gender reveal, a celebration to remember—one that her husband would have loved.