Isidore Okpewho

Okpewho, Isidore

Isidore Okpewho, Author and Academic, Dies at 74

Professor Isidore O. Okpewho, novelist, literary critic and leading luminary on African oral literature, passed away peacefully on September 4, 2016 at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, New York with his wife and 4 children by his side. Professor Okpewho was a Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York at Binghamton where he taught for 25 years after moving to Vestal with his family from their native country of Nigeria. He retired earlier this year. Professor Okpewho was born in Delta State, Nigeria on November 9, 1941 to David Okpewho and Regina Attoh. He honed his interest in languages and literature while studying at University College Ibadan (then a college of the University of London), graduating with a First Class undergraduate degree in Classics. He later graduated from the University of Denver with a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and obtained a D.Lit. in the Humanities from the University of London. Having authored, co-authored and edited 17 books and dozens of articles throughout his academic career, Professor Okpewho has been awarded some of the most prestigious fellowships in the Humanities, including fellowships from the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard and the Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and has garnered numerous awards for his work, including one that gave him a unique sense of pride: the Nigerian National Order of Merit ("NNOM"), an award bestowed by the Nigerian government on a select number of the nation's most prolific academic elites. His passing elicited praise and mourning not only from his colleagues across the globe, but also from the president of Nigeria and the governor of his home state. Outside of his illustrious professional life, Okpewho was an avid tennis player and spectator, and had a profound passion for jazz music. He was, first and foremost, an unabashedly loving, doting and attentive husband and father whose infectious cheerfulness and remarkable sense of humor brought joy to everyone around him. His dedication to his family and friends was unmatched. He is survived by his devoted wife, Mrs. Mary Okpewho; four children, Ediru, Ugo, Afigo, and Onome; seven grandchildren; and numerous siblings and extended relatives. A Funeral Mass for Professor Okpewho will be offered on Friday, September 16 at 11am at St. Vincent DePaul Blessed Sacrament Church, 465 Clubhouse Road, Vestal, New York, with visitation and viewing from 10am to 11am. Interment will follow on Saturday, September 17 at 11am at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 225 Ridgedale Avenue, East Hanover, New Jersey.