https://mshale.com/obituaries/ Tue, 30 Jun 2026 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1 Timon Bondo Timon Tue, 30 Nov -0001 Tue, 01 Sep 2020 Fri, 18 Sep 2020 https://mshale.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Timon-Bondo-via-RCPUSA-150x150.jpg https://mshale.com/obituaries/timon-bondo/1/ Mon, 26 Jul 2021 07:26:55 https://mshale.com/obituaries/timon-bondo/1/ Continue reading →]]> Kenyan American philanthropist, Timon Bondo, of Minnesota died September 1, 2020 in Kenya during his annual visit there. Photo: Courtesy Rabondo Community Project[/caption] Philanthropist and Minnesota resident Timon Bondo passed away on September 1 from cardiac arrest in his home in Rabondo Kenya. His exact age was unknown but was estimated to be in his 80s. Bondo, a native of Kenya moved to Minnesota in the early 1960s to pursue an education at the University of Minnesota. He was a member of what is called the “airlift generation” chronicled in the book, Airlift to America by Tom Schachtman, which tells the story of 800 African students brought to the United States in the early 1960s to attend college, among them was an eventual Nobel Prize winner, the late Wangari Maathai. Bondo was not part of the 800 but all African students who came to the United States during that time have come to be regarded as members of the “airlift generation.” He had intended to complete his studies in agricultural economics and return home to his native village of Rabondo in western Kenya. Little did he know that the place where he had first arrived as an international student would become his second home for almost six decades. Close friends and family of Bondo knew him as a man of great compassion and resilience. “He was a perfect gentleman,” said Dr. Larban Otieno, a retired dentist and longtime friend of Bondo. “He would take his shirt off his back,” he said. Otieno was friends with Bondo for nearly six decades, the two first met in 1965. They became acquainted when Otieno and a group of African students were visiting the University of Minnesota where Bondo was studying. Upon graduating from University, Bondo found work in the financial services sector. After establishing himself in the United States Bondo was dedicated to helping new immigrants settle into the state. One of the individuals he helped was Hosea Ojwang. Ojwang moved to the U.S. in February of 1993 towards the end of Minnesota’s winter from Kenya. At the time of his arrival, his wife who had been living here left for an overseas research study. Left to navigate life in the new country solo, Bondo was of great service. “There was Timon to help me out in the absence of my spouse,” he said. Bondo was instrumental in aiding Mr. Ojwang to obtain his driver's license by driving him to the testing location and allowing him to take the exam with his car. The two began a friendship that has lasted almost three decades until Bondo’s passing. In fact, Ojwang was with Bondo in November before his departure from Minnesota. After being diagnosed with an incurable eye disease in 1996, Bondo decided to go back to Kenya and visit his village for the first time since leaving. Upon his return, Bondo found a place that was hard hit with poverty and low access to education. He also witnessed the aftermath of a HIV/AIDS crisis that had claimed many lives and left children orphaned. Overwhelmed with compassion, Bondo began his philanthropic organization, the Rabondo Community Project (RCP) to raise funds to establish a school in his native village. Since that 1996 visit, he has spent the Minnesota winters in Kenya, leaving each November and coming back to Minnesota in the spring. This year he could not make it back to Minnesota as Kenya closed its airspace due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was about to return to the states after the resumption of flights when he died. [caption id="attachment_27265" align="aligncenter" width="504"] Association of Kenyans in Minnesota (AKIA) vice presdient Lilian Mboss-Oduol presents a check from the association to the late Mr. Timon Bondo during a fundraiser for the deceased's nonprofit Rabondo Community Project 20th anniversary fundraiser on September 29, 2018 held in St. Louis Park. Mr. Bondo died in Kenya on September 1, 2020 during his annual winter visit. Photo: Courtesy Rabondo Community Project[/caption] “He came from a community where there was no school and he went there and started a school from scratch,” Otieno said. Since its inception over twenty years ago the organization has touched countless lives by providing educational and employment opportunities to a community that had limited access to it. “Timon was a visionary and has left lots in terms of legacy,” Ojwang said. “He pulled a lot of people out of poverty,” he said. Over the years RCP has changed many lives through its educational and scholarship programs. Educating the population has had a ripple effect, as students who have graduated from the schools have been able to find employment and in turn support others. The schools that have been built have provided employment opportunities for local community members. RCP also built a fresh water well and brought electricity to the schools and the entire Rabondo community. The organization currently supports seven hundred students. “Timon was resilient, he was selfless and a person of deep integrity,” Ojwang said. As a man of great perseverance, he did not let his diagnosis prevent him from creating positive change in the lives of others. “He taught me that disabilities and age are not barriers for great things,” Ojwang said. The diagnosis he received in 1996 led him to gradually lose his eyesight. Bondo had completely lost his vision at the time of his death. In his day to day life, Bondo had a positive and contagious demeanor. “He loved fun, had a sense of humor, very human, I took him many places and was always struck at the way people received him,” Ojwang said. “People related to him in a very special way because of his good-naturedness,” he said. Bondo is already missed by his friends, “he was somebody I cared about and loved,” Ojwang said. “Rest in peace and we miss you very much,” Otieno said. His legacy lives on in the hearts and lives that he touched. His son Michael Bondo and older sister Marcela Atieno Bondo survive Bondo. He will be laid to rest on Friday September 18 in Rabondo. Plans for a Minnesota memorial celebrating his life are underway. To support the mission of the Rabondo Community Project you can visit their website to make a donation. ]]> Adassa Opusunju Clement Adassa Tue, 30 Nov -0001 Tue, 19 May 2020 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 https://mshale.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Adassa-Clement-Oposunju-150x150.jpg https://mshale.com/obituaries/adassa-clement-opusunju/2/ Mon, 26 Jul 2021 07:26:22 https://mshale.com/obituaries/adassa-clement-opusunju/2/ Continue reading →]]> Dr. Thomas Nyambane. [caption id="attachment_26981" align="aligncenter" width="638"] Adassa Clement Opusunju, a Nigerian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, died of the coronavirus on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 in Minnesota. Photo: Courtesy of Ijaw Women of America[/caption] COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 818 lives in Minnesota as of May 22, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. “He [was] the most generous large-hearted business man that we’ve had in this community,” attorney and longtime friend Paschal Nwokocha said. He was generous with his time and money. Opusunju came to the United States in the late 1980s and had called Minnesota home for over two decades. Opusunju founded multiple companies with his wife Josephine Oposunju, in clinical healthcare and automotive industry that provided employment to individuals within and outside the African community. “He [was] one of our financial backbones” Dr. Felicia Ikebude said. Ikebude is the president of the Association of Nigerian Nurses in Minnesota. The group has had a long-standing relationship with Opusunju whereby he hired nurses from the organization at his healthcare facilities. “He was really very influential in helping a lot of people find their footing in this country,” Nwokocha said. Opusunju was known to hire new immigrant residents that did not yet have work experience in the United States, granting them an opening to start their careers. “He [was] the epitome of community philanthropy” Jude Nnadi said. Nnadi is a Twin Cities contractor and friend of Opusunju. He had the opportunity to do business with Oposunju by doing construction projects for him at his various facilities. As a generous philanthropist, Opusunju used his influence and funds to support local events, scholarship funds, and non-profit organizations. One such organization was Ijaw Women of America which upon hearing of his death expressed shock and in a statement said “With tears rolling down our cheeks and utmost shock, Ijaw Women of America Inc. announces the untimely passing away of our big brother, our husband, our father, our uncle, our mentor and our friend..... our one and only Grand Patron Adassa Clement Opusunju.” The statement went on to say that the late Opusunju “Picked us up when no one believed in us.” Prior to his death, Opusunju was in the process of procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) from Nigeria to provide to healthcare workers in Minnesota, according to Nnadi. The conversation between the two regarding the PPEs had come up because following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nnadi along with other community members formed The Minnesota African Coalition COVID-19 Taskforce (MACC-T), aimed at lessening the economic impact that the pandemic is having on minority communities. That he would be trying to address a big community problem such as the shortage of PPEs was what defined the late Opusunju. “Our heart is heavy, we lost one of the pillars in the community. We will miss him dearly,” Ikebude said. He is survived by his wife Josephine Opusunju and their six children. Funeral arrangements are pending. This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of the late Opusunju's last name. ]]> Dr. Thomas Nyambane Dr. Thomas Tue, 30 Nov -0001 Sun, 17 May 2020 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 https://mshale.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Thomas-Nyambane-2014-Web-150x150.jpg https://mshale.com/obituaries/dr-thomas-nyambane/3/ Mon, 26 Jul 2021 07:25:48 https://mshale.com/obituaries/dr-thomas-nyambane/3/ Continue reading →]]> Dr. Thomas Nyambane, a beloved Kenyan-American educator in Minnesota died of the coronavirus on Sunday, May 17, 2020. Photo: Courtesy of M'barikiwa Media Ministry[/caption] Minnesota's Kenyan community is grieving the loss of an influential community leader, Thomas Nyambane, to coronavirus. Nyambane, affectionately referred to as Dr. Nyambane, was a college educator and was just a few years into his retirement following a career of teaching at Hennepin Technical College. He died yesterday (May 17) aged 69. His death is the first reported fatality of a Kenyan in Minnesota from the COVID-19 pandemic that as of May 18 had claimed 731 lives in the state. After moving to the United States in the 80s with his wife Alice, first to Texas and then to Minnesota, they raised three children and worked hard to encourage and model cohesion of the Kenyan community in the state. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas and two masters degrees from the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities. His doctorate degree in philosophy was from Bethel University in Saint Paul. He was a practicing Seventh Day Adventist and was a church elder at The Mountain Experience SDA Church in Moundsview. Friends and family that spoke to Mshale described the late Nyambane as a mentor and leader that guided many to achieve their potential and American dream. His eldest son, Cyprian Kambuni, said the sudden loss of his father is a shock to the family and the community he served. "He had a very generous heart - to everyone and it did not matter who or where you came from and whether you were a kid or a grownup," said Kambuni. The son said his generosity and kindness knew no bounds as he dispensed it in equal measure both locally where he lived and to his place of birth. He was a regular in fundraisers to raise money for Books for Africa through the Minnesota Kenya International Development Association (MKIDA) to send containers of books to Kenya. Kambuni said his father had been through four back surgeries in the last few years and had an underlying condition of diabetes that made him vulnerable to the coronavirus. His age also put him at risk. "He complained of shortness of breath on April 30 and got admitted at the hospital and when he got tested, he was positive of the virus," Kambuni told Mshale via phone. Kambuni said it is not clear where his father might have contracted the coronavirus given that he had been staying close to home following Governor Walz’s stay-at-home order, only going outside his apartment to get mail, as far as he can recall. The son said given his father's expressed wishes over the years to be buried at his birth place, the family is trying to come to terms on how to respect those wishes given the global pandemic. Kenya is among the African countries that have closed their airspace to commercial flights following the COVID-19 global pandemic. Nyambane's friend, Daniel Monari, said the late Nyambane worked hard to bring Kenyans in Minnesota, especially those from Gusii, together and was tireless in facilitating interaction between Minnesota and his native Kisii County in Kenya, at one time being part of a delegation of Minnesota firefighters that went to Kisii to train their counterparts. "He loved working for Kenyans, loved to be involved, loved to serve the community. Not seeing himself as a leader, but as a uniter of us all." Monari added one thing that struck him most about the late Nyambane was the fact that he gave equal respect to ideas from both men and women, recalling a time when Nyambane was chair of the Basi Community Foundation and he was the treasurer, "He would never allow dysfunction to surround him, and he put in place structures at the foundation that have stood the test of time." Echoing the late Nyambane as a respecter of all sexes was Lyna Nyamwaya, president of The African Nurses Network. Despite his influence and standing, Nyamwaya recalls how modest Nyambane was when she invited him to be part of a panel two years ago. Speaking in Ekegusii, Nyambane said "Baba Lyna ning'isaine koroku richuma gaki? Korende asengecho yamasikani ao, I will do it." Loosely translated the late Nyambane was wondering if he was worthy of being on the panel but because of the respect Nyamwaya had shown him he would join the panel. The president of the Minnesota Kenya Association, Geoffrey "Chui" Gichana, moaned the loss of a mentor whose wise counsel he said he will miss. "He is one of those people you feel better after you are done talking to. He was a great elder and leader of our community that we are going to really miss, and especially me personally," said Gichana. Nyambane is survived by his wife of more than four decades Alice, his daughter Mercy and two sons, Cyprian and Fred. Funeral arrangements are pending. ]]> Erastus Onchwari Erastus Tue, 30 Nov -0001 Tue, 25 Feb 2020 Tue, 30 Nov -0001 https://mshale.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Erastus-Onchwari-150x150.jpg https://mshale.com/obituaries/erastus-onchwari/4/ Mon, 26 Jul 2021 07:21:51 https://mshale.com/obituaries/erastus-onchwari/4/ Continue reading →]]> The Realities of the Informal Sector in Kenya and Its Economic Implications. Pius Raini, co-owner of Time Motor Sales in Minneapolis and a prominent member of the Kenyan-American business community in Minnesota, recalled meeting Onchwari almost 20 years ago. “He was so full of business ideas and how business could be used to make the community better,” he said. “His passion was really what struck me about the guy. One of the first businesses he started was car towing after he moved to Minnesota from Texas, and I tell you I have never seen someone so passionate about car towing. He was always looking further (down the road) than the rest of us, and we ended up being business partners along the way.’ “Erastus' energy and ability to think big really inspired those of us in business, I think that Masters in Economics of his gave him some edge. On a personal note, I will miss his positivity, his energy and just as a friend. Our (business) community owes him a debt of gratitude and I am a better person for having known him.” In his role as an entrepreneur, Onchwari sought to elevate the level of service offered by the businesses he was involved in. After starting his towing business, he followed that with an auto shop, a sprawling full-service shop that quickly became a go to place in Brooklyn Park. Always looking out for the next big thing, he handed over the business to his now grown daughter Judith who took it to the next level of service. Onchwari then moved into network marketing, specifically ACN, a multi-level marketing company finding particular success with the telecommunication side of that enterprise. Global Health Services Inc. executive director Henry Momanyi was another person who became impressed with Onchwari and his energetic attempts to make Kenyan-Americans in Minnesota and the Americas an economic force to reckon with. Momanyi, who volunteers as the communications director and community organizer for Mwanyagetinge, has had a front-row seat for much of Onchwari’s work in improving the economic wellbeing of Kenyans in Minnesota. Momanyi says Onchwari, being a visionary, would be frustrated at times by the slow pace the community grabbed on to opportunities presented to it. He would know as he would talk to him daily "I will miss our conversations," said Momanyi. "Men especially used to frustrate Erastus and he would say it is only the women that seemed to get it. The man was always ahead of his time," said Momanyi. Dr. Nyariki Otoyota, adjunct professor at Metropolitan University's College of Management, remembered the impact Onchwari’s dream of advancing the well-being of Kenyan-Americans had on the community. “Besides the other businesses that he was involved in, he brought special energy to Guconet” Dr. Otoyota said. “The man was for the people. We started Guconet Holdings (a social enterprise) and he was in charge of commercial services, entrepreneurship and he was the managing director for the LLC that Guconet started. The guy was thinking big.’ “He did not want our people to suffer, he used to wonder why our people who are highly educated in this country should continue to suffer,” Otoyota said. “So we owe this man a lot. The kind of energy he brought to what he did is very rare in our community, as some people who make it get comfortable but not Erastus, he will not rest until everyone and not just his family was prospering.” Dr. Pamela Obare Mogaka of Detroit recalled Onchwari’s incessant encouragement to get her to do better and the support he would give to her as the founder of the Diaspora Entertainment Awards & Recognition. “Erastus was a very good friend of mine for over 18 years. I met him in Minnesota while I lived there for two years. A man with a very good heart, always advising others and I don't remember a day he was mad at someone. Him and a group of us started a company and he brought some serious game that really brought us far," said Dr. Mogaka. The late Onchwari is survived by his wife of two decades Damaris and his two children Judith and Michael and grandchildren Michael Junior, Anthony, and Destany. Mother Jeliah Nyaera Onchwari. His siblings Joshua Onchwari, Gideon Onchwari, Hezron Onchwari, Stephen Onchwari, Gladys Onchwari. He was preceded in death by his father, Micah Onchwari and sister, Jane Onchwari. He is also survived by his fiancée, Dorothy Mckaney-Scott. Funeral arrangements are pending. A memorial service and fundraiser to assist with the funeral will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2019 at 4:00PM. Donations are being accepted in advance of the memorial via $CashApp: $OnchwariErastus Erastus Onchwari Memorial Service and Fundraiser Date: Sunday, March 10, 2019 @ 4:00 PM Venue: 7377 Noble Ave.N., Brooklyn Park, MN 55443 ]]>