Albion Mends Sr.

1918 - 2022

Albion Mends Sr., 103, of Warrensburg, Missouri, passed away Sunday, January 30, 2022, at the Warrensburg Manor Care Center.
Mr. Albion Mends II was regarded as the oldest living Old Boy (MOBA) of Mfantsipim School, in Cape Coast, Ghana, where he is from originally. Mends was born in Ada, Ghana, on August 19, 1918. He graduated in 1938 from Mfantsipim, a prestigious Methodist secondary school, where he was a master student and top of his class. After graduation, he worked as a postal clerk and was promoted to postmaster in Esiam, Ghana. He met and married Georgina Isabella Sagoe (Auntie Nana Effuah) during his tour of duty in Accra; they had nine children. His wife Georgina died in 1981.
Mends is a veteran of World War II. He served in the Signal Corps in Burma, with the Gold Coast Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force, and received a war medal. After the war (1970s), he traveled Ghana working for the government as camp commander in the Food Production Corporation. During this time, three of their children immigrated to the United States, including eldest son Albion III and Clarence, who were on track scholarships, followed by their brother, Kojo, who came on an agriculture exchange program.
Long-time Warrensburg resident Albion III (son) and wife Carolyn (deceased) were able to apply for residency in the United States for his father (Albion Mends Il) and the remaining siblings. The last of the Mends siblings arrived in 1985 to the United States with the relocation support of the First Baptist Church of Warrensburg. Numerous extended family in Ghana and in-laws followed in the years to come. Albion II married Maxine Drake of Warrensburg, who died in 2006.
Albion Mends II was also preceded in death by his mother Mary Hayford (aka Esie Seguwa) and father Albion Mends I, brother Mr. Claude Kinsley Mends, sister Mrs. Elizabeth Mends Abruquah, and sister Mrs. Maud Mends Hayford and other relatives.
At the Kansas City 100th birthday celebration in 2018, many honored him. His son Albion stated, ''to live to 100 years is truly a blessing from God! Dada's (Albion II affectionately known as) life is a testimony to God's power in saving a person physically and spiritually. It is our hope that through this event you will also find opportunities and ways to celebrate your own family, faith, love, and legacy. We treasure time on earth, but let's know that whether our days may be plentiful or short, we must spend them wisely in love. We rejoice for this 100th year of celebration.''
The celebration of the rich family legacy continues. He is survived, by his brothers and sisters: Horatio Mends, Lionel Thompson Mends, Alberta Mends, Helena Mends, Rowland Ebow Mends, Mercy Mends, Sybil Mends, Ama Mansa Mends, Effie Mends, and Kakra Mends. A cousin, Madam Hagar Reynolds. His children and their spouses: Albion Mends III (widower) and Carolyn Mends, Clarence and Sandra Mends, Lambert and Juliana Mends, Georgina Blankson, Kojo and Diane Mends, Muriel and Edwin Jackson-Kuofie, Priscilla and David Lartey, Elsie and Frank Quagraine, Othello and Salamatu Mends, and Anne Mends. His grandchildren and their spouses and great-grandchildren: Gwen, Emmanuel, Tera, Sarah, Derrick, Kwesi, Aba Seguwa, Ennor, Kwame, Adwoba, Greg, Olivia, Stephen, Mary-Ama, Anthony, Kobby, Stephanie, Isaiah, Maya, Wendy, Emmanuel, Afton, Staton, Onyx, Brandy, Aaron, Jennifer, Abeaku, Ato, Abby, Samantha, Charlotte, Xander, Baaba, Lynette, Lawrence, Amanda, Layla, Amari, Xavier, Alice, Ama, Anamoah, Othello Ir., Solange, Christopher, Hazel, Charley, Rachel, Liberty, Isaac, Ekuwah, Kweku, Nana, Quincy, Ekow, Ekua, Ebo, Effuah, Alistair-Asher, Anayah, Jude, Kukuwa, Jude Jr., James, Nana Yaa, Etta, Jeff, Grant, and Jonathan. His nieces and nephews: Maud Mends, Percy Mends and siblings, Cosmos Niagran and siblings, Trudy Mends and siblings, Rudolf Mends and brothers, Francis Jojo Mends, Betty Mends, Mrs. Rosemary Addy and siblings, John Plange Hayford, Rowland Ekow Mends and siblings, Penyin's (8), Billie Mends and siblings, Emmanuel Mends and siblings, Mrs. Gladys Ewuresi Afful, Benjamin Crentsil and siblings, Constance Okailey Adjin Tetteh, Sylvia Mensah, Yaw Asamoah Yeboah and sisters, Cosmos Attafua and siblings, Edward Yaw Sakah and siblings, Noelle Anamoah Mends and brother, Atto Crosby Bennin and siblings, Ekow Quagraine and brothers, Mrs. Angelina Amponsah, Jojo Hayford, Mrs. Mercy Winifred Bonsu and siblings, Emmanuel Paapa Brew and siblings, Atto Anderson and siblings, Harriet Brew and siblings, Kojo Aikins, Dr. Emmanuel T. Acquah, Mrs. Sheila Longdon, Edna Lovelace Oppong, Mrs. Helena Dei-Bampoe, Joe Yamoah, Mrs. Rosemary Addy and siblings.
The funeral service is at 11 a.m. Saturday, February 19, 2022, at First Baptist Church in Warrensburg, Missouri. Interment will follow at Sunset Hill Cemetery in Warrensburg. The visitation will be at the Church on Saturday at 10 a.m. Family will wear Ghanaian traditional white attire. Arrangements entrusted to Williams Funeral Chapel in Warrensburg and online condolences may be sent to www.williamsfuneralchapel.net.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Albion Mends Memorial Fund.