TRIBUTE TO MAMA JOANNA EBUN KEHINDE
I commiserate with the Kehinde Family of Isara Remo,Ogun State, on the passage of their matriarch, Madam Joanna Ebun Kehinde, who died at the age of 93. When Yoruba describe a mother as”Abiyamo l’ojo ija (the mother who stands firm on the battleday), they refer to a caring mother who defends her children during trying times).
I was fortunate to discover the above-mentioned virtue in Madam Kehinde that day, 25 years ago, in November 1997, when we launched the now-successful City People magazine published by her son, Dr. Seye Kehinde, at their Felele Area, Ibadan, Oyo State home.I chaired the occasion. Madam Kehinde was full of prayers and she exhibited the needed confidence that Seye would make a success of his new venture. Though she passed on at a ripe age of 93, no-one, talkless a family, will want to let go a fortress such as Mama Kehinde.
But, to the will of God, all the living must surrender. I pray for the repose of the kind soul of Mama, as I urge her survivors to glorify God for the beautiful life she lived and the virtues she bequeathed on to them. May God comfort the Kehinde Family of Isara-Remo at home and abroad. Amen.
Signed
Senior Chief ‘Lekan Alabi, D. Litt (h.c)
Maye Olubadan of Ibadanland.
Mama Joanna Ebun Kehinde…a Tribute
The bond between Mama Joanna Ebun and her illustrious son Dr Oluseye Kehinde up until she breathed her last a few weeks ago was so strong such that hardly would a week pass by without Seye creating time to visit her. And she in turn, a Prayer-Warrior and matriarch gave the son fondest affection and kindest care. Mama was everything to Seye. Mama Joanna was a role model to both her peers and the younger ones who were always milling around her to drink from her overflowing well of wisdom and bewitching decorum.
Abiyamo tooto, Mama was a mother every child would be proud of and the high qualities of industry, integrity and humility exemplified in her character were all embedded in her children as reflected in the workaholic and greatly talented Media Entrepreneur, Seye Kehinde.
Mama will be thoroughly missed by all who were privileged to know her… giving, loving, caring and forever cheerful, Mama Julianna was a rare Gem. Even though she lived to a ripe age, we wished she stayed longer with us. May Mama’s great soul rest in peace.
Akogun Tola Adeniyi,
The Araba Remo &
Jagun Oodua Adimula ll of Yorubaland.
Our Grand Mother, Mother, Sister, Cousin and the Head of Jaiyesimi Dynasty (Home and Abroad) “Olori Ebi”. You upheld the moral standards and principles, we admire and respect your intellectual capacity in planning and making things happen. You were the most hard working, loving , compassionate, understanding, family – oriented Mother, and one of the most beautiful souls one could ever meet. Ma, you lived a fulfilled life and left at a good old age. May your gentle soul rest in perfect peace Amen . SUN RE O. OMOBA NI ODE. AKO FON, ELEWU ALA. OMO ABIDI OKO YAMBARI!!
From. Engr. & Mrs Samuel Tunde and Titi Jaiyesimi.
Didun ni iranti Olododo as that is the memory of Daddy G. A. Kehinde & our amiable ever cheerfully smiling Mama J. Ebun Kehinde.They both came to this mortal world as honest, tenaciously hard working nd patriotic leaders & mentors. The LORD granted them both longevity, peace, happiness as soul mates for all that are honest & exemplary together also in CHRIST JESUS as Apostles in HIS ministry to engrave their names in the book of life as excellent people in the service of their Isara Community and Humanity. Through them ISARA INDIGENS ASSOCIATION, ABEOKUTA was inaugurated in 1979 for the warfare of Isara citizens & patriotic community leadership. Good night Mama nd commune among the saints to awake with the LORD JESUS CHRIST on the Resurrection day.
Arch. Toye Oshindero
TRIBUTE FOR MAMA
A great mother and a mentor for all.you were an epitome of humility, faithfulness, and caring,these and many more are the qualities that made you stand out.Your care’s about ur children, siblings, and someone like me very close to the family. May your gentle soul rest in peace. Iya oninuree, sunre o.
– Babatunde Hezekiah Adeegbe
TRIBUTE TO OUR
GREAT MOTHER
We have known Mama going to 30 years now. She was a sort of inspiration to her children and all that ever comes across her. Mama was full of sense of humour and caring. Mama, we wish you can live forever but God loves you more.
Rest in the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ till we meet and part no more.
–With Love from the Osunsina family.
MAMA Joanna Ebun Kehinde; Mummy Ibadan as we fondly called you with due reverence. You were our family Icon; our very own matriach and the beacon that lit our paths to our dreams.
Every descendant of Pa Philip Jaiyesimi Abidi-Oko walked “big and tall” because we had a matriach in you and hence felt equipped to follow in you giant footsteps.
Your motherly love and gentle voice commanded respect and was the rallying point of our family unity.
I never heard a word uttered in anger by you.
I have fond memories of you reminding my father at every opportunity that I wasn’t just a Leshi but I was also a Jaiyesimi-Abidioko and that you were proud that I looked like you and my matrilineal kinship.
This repeated “maternal claim of ownership” was the ultimate display of love beyond compare in my young precocious mind.
I made a trip home from London last Xmas with a determination to come to vist you and pay homage to you my iconic matriach as I felt the sun may be setting
I will forever cherish our last conversation and the clarity and presence of mind with which you recieved me which belied your ripe old age.
Rest on in the bossom of your creator till we meet again.
ADIEU MY MUMMY, ADIEU MY BEACON ADIEU OUR MATRIACH
–Sonny Leshi [London]
Ola Leshi-Akinsanya Tribute below:
Mummy Ibadan like we fondly called you, Omo abidioko Yambari, you have nurtured me into the path of the Lord and good life , you gave me montessori educational backgound at home in isara when you discovered I was exceptionally brilliant since my elementary years on which my academic success and professional career stands.
She loves unity amongst her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren by checking on us regularly. I will forever feel your absence mama Dupe , rest on until we meet again to depart no more courtesy.
–Townplanner (Olori ) Olaribiwunsi Akisanya
Grandma, you may have passed on, but your memories will live with us forever. Thank you for your sacrifices, care, prayers, concern, true love and everything that you did for us and my late Mum, Ayoola Ogunjimi (nee Jayesimi). We are joyful because we know you are in a much better place resting in the bossom of our Lord. We will be forever grateful and thankful that you are our grandmother, and for passing down your super-soft spoken, gentle nature to our late mum. Rest in peace grandma.
–From Mrs Olusola Ajayi and the Ogunjimis’
Tribute
She was a peaceful, caring and loving mother who would not despise our little beginnings. It is so surprising how mama did not trouble us even when we couldn’t pay our house rent as when due. Instead, she left us in her house as if we are her biological children. Your impact in our lives will never be forgotten.
Good night Mama.
FAMILY OF MR EYIOLA AND MR OPALEYE (Mama’s Tenants at Isara)
Mama, I know we’ll always remember you,even though you are no longer with us.You touched our lives with your kindness and a wonderful influence. Those special memories of you will always bring a smile. I’m thankful to God for making our paths meet. My heart is full of loving memories with pride. Heaven must be beautiful right now, since they have you.
Rest beautifully Mama.
–Your Janet
It proved surprisingly tough for me to write this tribute for Mrs Ebun Kehinde. I expected that having interacted with her for over 50 years it would be smooth sailing.
Tributes allow you to summarise your interactions. A quick flash back over the years, starting from Ibadan, the good old rusty city where it all started ,our primary school days, to our GCI days, to the creation of Ogun State ,and the eventual relocation to Abeokuta and of course her old age years, she lived a full yet fulfilled life.
Her gentle and amiable personality stands out. She was calm and it was relaxing to be in her company. Ever guiding, ever prayerful in her unique way. Her magnetic smile will be missed by all, but her beautiful spirit lives on. Mama Dupe will be sorely missed but we are grateful for the gift of life and wish all the fortitude to carry on. She was a mother in a million. On behalf of the Sonola family home, abroad and yonder, please accept my heartfelt condolences.
–Oladapo Sonola
TRIBUTE TO OUR MATRIARCH, MAMA JOANNA EBUN KEHINDE
My wife and I were fortunate and blessed to have crossed paths with Mama Ebun Kehinde through the tie knotted with one of her grandchildren, Miss Oluwakemi, by our own dear son, Abimbola. We could almost touch the joy of Mama on the day of the wedding. She endeared herself to us by sending fruits to us immediately after the wedding of Abimbola and Oluwakemi in 2017. This came to us as a manifestation of the love that she had for her granddaughter, and, needless to say, her extension of such hand of love to our family.
It was indeed with joy, that while Mama was still in Ibadan, we made it a point of duty to visit her from time to time. Every minute spent with her on each occasion was indeed splendid and memorable. We had cause to admire her mental alertness at such an old age as she still remembered names and some important events with accuracy that we cannot boast of at our much younger age. Thus, Mama had an unusual presence of mind, considering her age. Mama would discuss current affairs in the nation with us as if she was still in her forties.
Death is a trickster! It is a sad news, to say the least, no matter the age of the departed. Shocking, as it is a frightening reminder of the inevitable end of all mortals. Mama’s good works and excellent memories console us all. May she rest well in the realm where death is a futility.
Mama will be sorely missed by us and all our in-laws – Mr. & Mrs. Coker, Mr. & Mrs. Olusegun Kehinde (our direct in-laws) and Mr. & Mrs. Seye Kehinde, other children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. However, we can take solace from having had a mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother who was loving, caring, gentle and prayerful. May God grant her eternal rest in His Kingdom through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Mama, we love you, but God loves you more. May your gentle soul rest in perfect peace.
–Emeritus Prof. & Mrs. Femi Bamiro
A Royal Tribute To Madam Joanna Ebun Kehinde
Life is a journey and no matter how lengthy the journey, there is always a final destination that signifies the end of one’s journey in the course of life.
Mama Joanna Ebun Kehinde’s death is a celebration of a life well lived. To be survived by successful children and grandchildren is the dream of any parent and mama’s dreams definitely came to pass during her lifetime and now as we share mixed feelings about her passing, we should be thankful on her behalf to God for a lifetime well spent.
I send my deepest condolences to you my brother, Seye Kehinde, no matter how old mama could have gotten, nothing can quantify the pain of losing one’s mother. I appeal to you to stay strong and keep the mantle running. Mama was a mother to not just her children but a whole lot of people and as you perform the last respects for her, May the Good Lord be with you and strengthen you.
Please accept my heartfelt sympathy.
–HRM, Oba Dr Olufolarin Olukayode
Ogunsanwo JP
Alara Of Ilara Kngdom, Epe Division Lagos State
CONDOLENCE
My dear brother, I extend my sympathies on the passing of your dear mother, Madam Joanna Ebun Kehinde.
Although the demise of one’s loved one does not come easy, we are comforted that mama lived a good life living to the ripe old age of 93 and she left a great and indelible legacy as exemplified in you. Yours and your other siblings’ successes are testaments of mama’s fulfilled living on this side. Therefore, our duty is to be grateful to the Almighty as she joins the saints triumphant in eternity. My prayers and that of our people are with you and the Kehinde family in these times, as we ask God for guidance and fortitude for the family. Stand strong.
May Mama’s soul rest in peace.
Signed
His Excellency,
Otunba (Engr.) Gbenga Daniel, FNSE, FAEng
Former Governor of Ogun State
ROYAL TRIBUTE FROM THE ODEMO OF ISARA
Life is eternal and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon. And a horizon is nothing save the limits of our sights. The life of the one we love is never lost. Its influence goes on through all the lives it ever touched.
Mama had a heart that cared completely. She had a smile that brought so much pleasure. She had a love that brought joy beyond measure. A light from the Isara community is gone, a voice we love is still. A place is vacant in our hearts that never can be filled. I wish mama farewell on the journey to the great beyond. May her soul rest in peace and God bless all that she left behind.
–Kabiyesi Alaiyeluwa, Oba Albert Adebose Mayungbe,
Erinsiba III, Odemo of Isara Remo.
Regardless of the old ripe age of Madam Joanna Ebun Kehinde, no one wishes to let go a loved one. It must, however, be noted that she has lived a most decent and godly life, raising her children in social discipline as evident in Mr Seye Kehinde himself, who himself has been a trailblazer and pioneer of methods in the entertainment industry and has also been a major support to my music ministry.
At this moment, heaven has gained yet another saint while the world mourns that a benefactor has departed.
Rest on, God’s own daughter.
– Tope Alabi
No one can ever replace the amazing person your mother was. Our thoughts are with you during this time. When someone as special as your mom lives the way she did, her legacy is sure to live on through the many lives she touched. You’ll always remember how it felt to be loved by your mother. I hope those memories will bring you some comfort in time.
Your beautiful mother is now an angel, watching over you, protecting you, and guiding you with love. There is something about losing a mother that is permanent and inexpressible — a wound that will never quite heal.
May her exit bring forth gracious developments in the family, may she find comfort in the abode of God and may her sins be forgiven. Her legacies will remain with us eternally.
His Royal Majesty, Oba Hameed Adekunle Makama oyelude.
Tegbosun Iii.
Olowu of Kuta.
The Family of Mama Joanna Ebun Kehinde
Kehinde Avenue
Aiyegbami
Isara
LETTER OF CONDOLENCE AND TRIBUTE TO MAMA JOANNA
EBUN KEHINDE (NEE JAIYESIMI)
Please accept the condolences of the entire family of Sir Chief Dr. Harold Adesina and Lady Olufunke Akanke Wilde (Chief Mrs.) on the passing into glory of our dear Mama, fondly called Grandma, at the grand age of 93.
We thank God that Mama lived a fruitful, rewarding and fulfilled life. To the entire Jaiyesimi and Kehinde families, she was a motivator and coordinator, the life of the families. A disciplined social worker and educationist, she ensured every member of the family embarked on self development educationally, spiritually, socially and materially. She helped every child in her families to progress in life.
Even her tenants testified to her peaceful, gentle and helpful nature. She radiated love within and outside the family circles and was a mother worthy of emulating in her church and family activities.
A loving mother indeed! She will be sadly missed but forever be remembered for the legacy she left behind: the high quality and outstanding achievements of her children, Modupe, Segun and Seye. With them we rejoice that Mama lived long to the glory of God. May her soul rest in perfect peace.
–LADY OLUFUNKE AKANKE WILDE (Chief Mrs.)
Former Principal, R.S.S. Sagamu,
Proprietress, Topmost Schools, Sagamu
Thank God for Mama’s life.Thank God too that she was able to raise a cultured, respectful and hardworking son like Seye.May her soul continue to rest in perfect peace. Amen.
From Prince Lana Adesida
Ohhhh!
What a great loss!!!
The death of one’s mother is a devastating issue especially when you love them so much. I assume that the bond between you and your mom must have been a very strong one. No matter how much you love her, Almighty God loves her more. She has gone to rest with her maker. Please take solace in that fact, and be strong for your siblings.
May her soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.
Almighty God will give you and the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Pele o, omo oloku!!!
GBEGANDE of Ososa.
My condolences and regrets. I learnt of how close and cherished you were to her. May her sweet memories and legacies live on with the living. Amen
–Yemisi Shyllon
My brother good morning. E pele o, e ku aseinde, e de ku ara feraku to you and all your siblings and family. Also a very big congratulations for you to be able to outlive and send forth your mother. It’s not to be taken for granted. When is the burial?
May her soul rest in perfect peace Amen
–From Tunde Odanye
Good morning Sir. So so sorry to hear. May the Lord comfort and console you in Jesus name. E pele sir.
Good evening Sir. I hope you and the rest of the family are staying strong. The Lord will continue to uphold, console and comfort you all in Jesus name.
–From Pastor Femi
Mama was a wonderful woman. A mother in a million, a real woman of substance. Although we are sad that she is no more with us, we’re happy that she lived a fulfilled, Godly and wonderful life. A life of achievements, a life worthy of emulation.
I pray that God gives the Kehinde family the fortitude to bear this huge loss and I also pray that Almighty God grants Mama eternal rest.
–Rt Hon Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni
Deputy Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly and APC Candidate for Lagos Central Senatorial District
The tranciency of life cannot be over emphasised, death is therefore a sad necessary end. We are usually saddened and disappointed whenever we are visited by this expected but unwanted guest regardless of the age of the departed soul.
The latitude and grace to live long is divine, we are therefore thankful that mama lived a long, impactful and fulfilled life. She was indeed a phenomenally great woman, and her strength of character was legendary, her unwavering commitment to her family was absolute, her compassion for humanity was boundless and her fidelity to excellence was exemplary. It is therefore not surprising to see that all her children have benefited immensely from these attributes. They are the best testaments to Mama’s indelible footprint…
–From Senator Omisore
A Good Woman Is Gone
How do I begin to write about Mama’s transition? I was one of her adopted sons. She lived opposite my office at Felele area of Ibadan, so I saw Mama every day.
And I used to joyfully run errands for her.
She was a nice woman to all of us in the neighbourhood.
She was also a very devoted Christian. She never missed going to church on Sunday.
We would miss her.
I urge the family to take heart and stand firm.
Alhaji Bashy Kuti
TRIBUTE
Mama Joanna Ebun Kehinde was a mother in Israel. A dutiful and caring mother. Her children doing well globally speaks volume of her motherhood. Mama was kind to all. A very resplendent dresser.
Adieu! Mama Seye Kehinde.
Pastor Wole Oladiyun.
CLAM.
Lagos. Nigeria
A FAREWELL MESSAGE TO A QUINTESSENTIAL MOTHER
RE:MRS J. EBUN KEHINDE (NEE JAIYESIMI)
Although you have gone to join your creator and your ancestors, but one thing is crystal clear to everyone that knows you that you were (and still) *A Role Model *A Symbola of Love *An Epitome of Beauty *A Servant Leader.
You have never shied away from your responsibilities as the first born of my maternal grandparents (Baba & Mama BUSSA). The success of all of us (descendants of Baba & Mama Busa) are enjoying and proud of is probably because of your deligence.
You responded positively to the clarion call of Baba Busa (Late Pa Philip Adesanya Jaiyesimi) by training your junior sisters and Brothers.
You trained my Mum and my Mum and Dad trained us (Thank you).
Rest well Mummy.
Bolanle Leshi
Atlanta, Georgia U.S.A
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