MOUND, Minn. — Paul Morande was known throughout Minnesota’s Kenyan American community as a tireless organizer, mentor and philanthropist who somehow found time to help nearly everyone who needed him.
But at his funeral Mass on Thursday, Nov. 12, it was his four children who took center stage, offering an intimate portrait of the man they knew simply as Dad.
“He was a stellar father,” said his daughter Stephanie Morande, fighting back tears as she remembered a man who fiercely protected his children, encouraged their ambitions and made them feel safe.
“There was no way to not feel safe around my dad.”
The emotional tributes unfolded before a packed sanctuary at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Mound, where hundreds gathered to bid farewell to Morande, 64, who died Oct. 29 after a four-year battle with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare cancer of the heart. The funeral livestream, provided by KDRTV, recorded approximately 2,000 views that day, extending the farewell far beyond the church.
The funeral followed a community memorial at the same church four days earlier, when hundreds of mourners celebrated Morande’s contributions to the Kenyan diaspora and his decades of service to others.
Thursday belonged largely to his family.
His children — William, Maria, Stephanie and Sandrah — spoke in that order, beginning with the youngest. Their recollections alternated between humor, pride and grief, revealing a father whose devotion to his family matched his commitment to the wider community.
Maria and Stephanie delivered particularly emotional tributes, occasionally glancing at prepared remarks but often speaking directly from the heart.
Also read Mshale’s earlier coverage of Paul Morande: |
A second career after work
Maria Morande, the third-born child, described growing up with a father whose long days extended well beyond his regular job as a telecommunications engineer.
His children knew he spent his evenings visiting families experiencing loss, helping people navigate health problems, mobilizing community resources and mentoring others. What they did not fully appreciate until later was the scale of that work.
“We didn’t have a very clear view back then into the second career that followed his nine to five as a community organizer,” Maria said.
Yet however busy he was, Morande made time for his children.
“Every night he would eat dinner with us,” she recalled.
He listened to their school experiences, discussed sports and answered their questions about politics, economics and theology with the same seriousness he brought to his professional and community responsibilities.
Education was central to his parenting.
Maria said her father regarded education as a path to opportunity, a conviction shaped by his own journey from Kisii, Kenya, through studies and professional assignments that eventually took him to the United States.
During summer vacations, he brought home math and reading workbooks for his children. The local library in Mound became a favorite destination for the family and their cousins.
“He raised us to always have a book in hand,” Maria said.
Their childhood love of reading eventually helped them understand another dimension of their father’s work: his involvement in sending books to schools in Kenya through Books for Africa.
“We didn’t know how much time our dad spent delivering that same gift to thousands of people in Kenya,” she said.
Morande’s belief in helping others also appeared in ordinary acts of kindness.
Maria recalled a story recently shared by her cousin Carlton, who once accompanied Morande to buy a stove for a family settling in the United States. When Carlton asked whether the family would pay him, Morande explained that some things were more important than money.
Another person recovering from an injury received regular visits from Morande, who helped the individual practice walking and speaking before rushing off to his children’s activities.
Maria said her father’s determination became especially evident during the final four years of his life, when he endured chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation while continuing to support his family and community.
When asked how he was doing, he often responded, “So far, so good.”
“Our hearts are so broken today as we say goodbye to our father, but we are also filled with such immense pride,” Maria said.
A father who made his children laugh
Stephanie Morande offered a series of personal memories that drew smiles even as she struggled with grief.
Her father, she said, was an endlessly energetic man who rarely rested unless he was genuinely exhausted.
He also had a playful side that people outside the family might never have seen.
Stephanie remembered how he woke the children for school by singing songs he invented, including one whose recurring message was that vegetables were better than ice cream.
Sometimes he picked up Maria’s guitar and began strumming as he sang.
“He found so many ways just to continue to give us a zeal for life,” Stephanie said.
He encouraged his children to pursue their interests even when he did not fully understand their ambitions, and he listened to their concerns without judgment.
But it was his protective instincts that left some of the deepest impressions.
Stephanie recalled visiting Kisii with her older sister when two police officers carrying rifles made comments about the dresses the sisters were wearing. Although the dresses extended below their knees and had long sleeves, the officers apparently disapproved.
Morande overheard them and immediately confronted the officers.
Stephanie, who did not understand what the men were saying, was startled by her father’s reaction.
“That’s who my dad was,” she said. “There was no fear, no fear in him at all.”
She also recalled how he rushed to protect her younger brother William when another child threatened him with a broken metal broom during a community gathering.
Even in anger, she said, her father knew how to handle the situation. He addressed the child appropriately before asking to speak with the parents.
Stephanie remembered another trip to Kenya when her father asked her to buy a small notebook that would fit into his shirt pocket, along with a pen.
Throughout the visit, she watched him fill the notebook with the needs of relatives and other people he encountered.
“I watched him continuously look for ways to find solutions for people,” she said.
For Stephanie, the memories illustrated a man who understood that helping others did not always require grand gestures.
“My dad, his were simple and they were consistent,” she said.
She also described his extraordinary optimism during his illness. Even when his children became emotional about his deteriorating health, he tried to keep them focused on living.
“I’m not gone yet,” he would tell them.
Stephanie urged mourners to celebrate the happiness her father brought into their lives alongside the sorrow of losing him.
The example he set
The youngest child, William Morande, opened the family tributes by describing a father who balanced his demanding professional and philanthropic commitments with an extraordinary ability to remain present for his children.
“He was the most busy yet available person I had met in my entire life,” William said.
He spoke about the example his father set through his work, his support for the children’s education and his willingness to assist people facing difficult circumstances.
William referred to a family expression popularized by his brother-in-law, Fafa, about the importance of not being “useless.” As William explained it, the expression was a humorous reminder that people should fulfill their potential and make a positive contribution to the lives of others.
“By this definition, my father was none of these things,” William said, making clear that his father had lived a life of purpose and service.
Sandrah, the eldest daughter, followed her siblings with an unscripted expression of gratitude.
She thanked relatives, friends and community members who had supported the family during her father’s illness and in the days following his death.
She spoke warmly of the aunties who had helped nourish and care for the family and the uncles who had stepped in to handle responsibilities once managed by her father.
Sandrah also paid tribute to her mother, Beatrice “Betty” Morande, for her strength and devotion.
“So thankful to you mom for being the foundation of our home,” she said.
She thanked Betty for caring for her husband while continuing to support their children.
A community returns the generosity
Betty, who had been a central voice at Sunday’s memorial, spoke more briefly Thursday, remembering her husband as her closest companion and the person who helped build their family.
“He always had the time for me, always had the time for our family,” she said, despite the countless hours he devoted to helping others.
She expressed gratitude to the medical professionals who treated Morande during his illness, including teams at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park.
But one particularly personal acknowledgment illustrated the generosity the family had received in return.
Betty thanked Brevin, the son of Nicholas “Ndovu” Mokaya, a longtime friend of the Morande family. Brevin opened his home to the Morandes whenever they traveled to Rochester for Paul’s treatment at Mayo Clinic, sparing them the expense of hotel accommodations.
The gesture echoed the many stories shared by Morande’s children about their father’s habit of helping others.
The family also received condolences from Kenya.
Robert Masese, Betty’s eldest brother, told mourners that he and his wife, Rose, had traveled from Kenya the previous day to attend the funeral.
Masese delivered a message from Betty’s mother in Kenya, who urged her daughter to remain strong.
Speaking briefly in Ekegusii, the language of the Abagusii people of western Kenya, Masese relayed another message from Betty’s mother: “Nainde omorendere abachokoro” — take care of my grandchildren.
He then continued in English, thanking the community, medical teams, Morande’s employer and the relatives and friends who had supported the family.
The family also received a letter from the vice chancellor of Kisii University in Kenya recognizing Morande’s contributions, which was presented during the funeral program.
Among those who spoke separately with Mshale was Nancy Mekenye, an oncology nurse from Brooklyn Park who said she had known Morande since around 1998, shortly after he arrived in the United States.
In an interview as she waited in line to view Morande’s body, Mekenye said she had missed Sunday’s memorial because she was out of town but made the approximately 45-minute drive to Mound to pay her final respects.
Despite her professional experience caring for cancer patients, Mekenye said she was shocked when she learned of Morande’s rare diagnosis involving cancer of the heart.
Pastor Kennedy Nyachiro, who also spoke with Mshale at the funeral, said he met Morande about three years ago but had long admired his leadership of the Mwanyagetinge organization.
Nyachiro, who is working to establish a Seventh-day Adventist congregation that worships in Ekegusii, said he had hoped to learn more from Morande as he developed the new church and continued his involvement in the West Mugirango community organization.
‘Rich in what matters to God’
In his homily, Father Peter Richards, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, reflected on Morande’s faith and generosity.
Richards said Morande had demonstrated his religious convictions not merely through prayer and participation in church life, but through his willingness to share his time, abilities and resources with others.
“He shared not just finances but his person, his talents, and his wisdom with his family and community,” Richards said.
The priest described Paul and Betty as people who had lived modestly but were “rich in what matters to God.”
Richards also reflected on the family’s experience during Morande’s illness, saying he had witnessed their gratitude for the additional years they were given together.
He acknowledged the pain of bereavement while encouraging mourners to recognize that grief and love could coexist.
“The loss of a loved one can leave a big hole in our heart and that space is not meant to be filled but left open and empty,” he said.
That space, Richards told mourners, was sacred and reserved for love.
A final procession
The funeral Mass was preceded by a visitation beginning at noon, allowing mourners to view Morande’s body and pay their final respects.
Among those gathered near the open casket were members of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service organization to which Morande belonged. Some knelt with rosaries in prayer.
Shortly before the Mass began, the casket was closed and moved to the rear of the church for the traditional Catholic funeral procession.
Richards conducted the introductory rites, blessing the casket with holy water and explaining the significance of the white funeral pall as a reminder of baptism.
Members of the St. Charles Lwanga Welfare Association, dressed in black suits and red ties, lined the aisle as the casket was brought into the sanctuary, followed by Morande’s family.
Among those serving at the altar were Morande’s godchildren, Darren Kimori and Valerie Keraro, who assisted during the funeral Mass alongside Deacon Matthew.
Throughout the service, the association’s choir brought an uplifting dimension to the solemn occasion with Swahili liturgical singing and harmonies that reflected Morande’s Kenyan heritage.
The Mass included Scripture readings, prayers, Communion and the final commendation before the casket was carried out of the church.
Because of limited space at the cemetery, mourners were asked to remain at the church, where the burial would be livestreamed on large screens in the gymnasium.
Only vehicles displaying designated white flags were permitted to join the procession to the graveside, where attendance was largely restricted to family members and a small number of close friends.
Mshale was among those permitted to witness the burial.
At the graveside, the public tributes gave way to a more private expression of grief.
William Morande, the youngest of the couple’s four children, was given the opportunity to place the first soil into his father’s grave after the casket was lowered. It was a poignant moment for the son who had opened the family’s tributes earlier that afternoon.
Betty appeared especially emotional as her husband’s casket was lowered into the ground.
Stephanie, who had earlier spoken so passionately about the father who always made his children feel safe, held up her phone to record the moment.
It was a final, deeply personal image from a day in which Morande’s children had shown mourners the father behind the familiar community leader.
After the burial, the family returned to Our Lady of the Lake, where they joined mourners for refreshments that included maandazi and Kenyan tea.
Many of those who had filled the sanctuary remained, continuing the conversations and expressions of support that had sustained the Morande family through the days of mourning.
For a man whose children remembered him as someone who always made time for others, the gathering offered one final reflection of the community he had spent so much of his life helping to build.
About Tom Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the board of the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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