Founder and Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong buried his father over the weekend, on September 10, 2022.
This followed the passing of his father on May 13, 2022.
The funeral was attended by some statesmen and distinguished personalities including former President, John Mahama, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, Kennedy Agyapong, IGP, George Akuffo Dampare, some Ga chiefs and representatives from other regions among others.
Among other things, Opanyin Samuel Kwame Siaw Agyepong was described as a family man who brought up his children with Christian virtues and discipline.
With three wives, the late Mr. Siaw Agyepong produced 17 children.
Out of these 17, Joseph Siaw Agyepong was the fifth to follow 4 elderly ones, 3 males and a female.
Daniel Kwaku Asante Agyepong who is now late was the first, followed by Samuel Kwabena Kissi Agyepong, David Akwasi Anum Agyepong and Mercy Ama Serwaa Agyepong.
The others are; Cecilia Asumaniwaa Agyepong, Paul Osei Agyepong, Peter Osei Agyepong, Victoria Dwamena Agyepong, Samuel Ofori Agyepong, Comfort Mansah Agyepong, Joseph Osei Agyepong, Grace Anumwah Agyepong, Solomon Kweku Nyame Agyepong, Vida Agyepong, Emmanuel Boakye Agyepong and Mary Obenewaa Agyepong.
His children described Opanyin Siaw Agyepong as a man who not only catered for his family but raised up many others.
Opanyin Agyepong is said to have brought up his children to be meticulous, disciplined, God-fearing, hardworking, respectful and responsible. For example, he would ensure that a task that is not well performed is done over and over again till it met his expectation. He also did not spare the rod when any of the children went wayward and he loved reading and discussing the Bible with his children to inculcate in them the virtues of Christianity.
“He was popularly known as the father of the fatherless, for he took care not only of his own family members but every needy person that God brought his way. He was that giant fruitful tree and a pillar which his wives, children and foster children, siblings, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, other extended relatives, neighbours and strangers depended on,” portions of his biography read.
Here are all the siblings of Jospong:
Samuel Kwabena Kissi Agyepong
David Akwasi Anum Agyepong
Mercy Ama Serwaa Agyepong
Cecilia Asumaniwaa Agyepong
Paul Osei Agyepong
Peter Osei Agyepong
Victoria Dwamena Agyepong
Samuel Ofori Agyepong
Comfort Mansah Agyepong
Joseph Osei Agyepong
Grace Anumwah Agyepong
Solomon Kweku Nyame Agyepong
Vida Agyepong
Emmanuel Boakye Agyepong
Mary Obenewaa Agyepong
Below is the full tribute by his children to the late Opanyin Siaw Agyepong:
When the sons and daughters of a man who is gone to rest stand to speak and give testimony of his life, everybody lends their ears in anticipation that the first words would celebrate the glory of the one on whose shoulders lives have been built–– in this case seventeen lives.
We will not begin our words of boundless gratitude by chronicling the glories of Papa, though he led a glorious life, for which we are thankful to God. We will not let the nagging pain of our loss usurp the beauty of the words that should recount Papa’s life.
Though touched in its middle by the trials that His Lord sent his way to strengthen his faith, it began in promise and ended in glory. The father that we knew, whom we have lost and whom we share here with you was a man whose steps were ordered by God. When God loves a man, it is the offspring of that man that He prospers. You have proof of that in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob to Joseph.
When God chooses a man and intends to bless his children, His voice is loudest in the life of that fortunate man. God’s voice was loud in the life of our Father Opanyin Samuel Kwame Agyepong. A man of commitment and hard work, Papa expended a greater part of his energy into bringing us up rightly. There is not one out of the seventeen of us who does not have the fear of God in him or her.
If there is one visually clear image of Papa that will never diminish over time, it is that of Papa with his head buried daily in his huge Bible.
He imbibed the love of God, the fear of God and the principles that should bind a Christian life, from his Bible. And we also imbibed the fear and love of God from him. Most of us recall fondly the numerous times he would sit us down and explain to us portions of the Bible that we had read.
When it came to making sure that we grew up with an awareness of our unrelenting commitment to God, Papa made sure no stone was left unturned. Indeed, no rod was spared in this regard. By the principles of God enshrined in the Holy Bible, Papa exercised controlled and managed effectively his three wives, and seventeen children together with many nephews, nieces and extended family members under his roof with love and care for everyone in harmony.
Indeed, Papa’s wives cooked together and ate from the same bowl as was the case with us his children. Our father often went to the market in his car to buy foodstuffs and bring them home for his wives to use to prepare food for all of us to eat together. This was a good strategy to keep the peace in the family. We are here today to present a collective tribute to our father because of his most sterling attribute–– a man of unity. The love of unity as the essential family value flowed in his Aduana blood. We had three mothers – Aunty Yaa, Aunty Aggie, and Enakuma.
None of us their children cared which of these three mothers suffered the pangs of childbirth for us. Each was our mother. The high regard with which Papa held unity as a sacred family value was seen in his every action. When times were good, we all lived together in his house at Teshie-Nungua Estates. When times were tough, we all moved with him to the village at Odubi and later Saabo. These actions gave expression to the saying that within unity is strength. Maintaining a close relationship with one another is a value that we hold dear and which we will forever be grateful to Papa for. Some say that effort is thrice the price of intelligence.
Papa’s life was governed by this maxim. Although he was a man of uncommon intelligence, what defined him in public as well as in private life was his affection for hard work. Our father applied himself to every task as if his life depended on it. There were occasions when he swept his own room three times before concluding that it was clean. Long hours at work were his common practice. No one dared to perform a task shabbily before him. If any of us was inattentive in washing his car, you ended up washing it over and over again. When his business was thriving in Accra, many of us his children had to lend a helping hand by hawking some of the products. When he ventured into farming, we had to render help by providing labour.
These experiences have shaped us into the adults that we are today. None of us his children know how to run from work, no matter the level of difficulty associated with the task. Papa, we are grateful for the excellent upbringing. A father’s first duty to his children is to love them. Our father loved us even in difficult times. When any of us was sick, Papa would not sleep until he found a remedy.
His love for herbal medicine was therefore a byproduct of his love for us. Finding cures for various ailments afflicting seventeen children at different times was one that turned him into a specialist in herbal medicine. He was a man with great knowledge of herbal cures. A good father’s love is never always rosy. It is at times tough. Our father did not shy away from his responsibility to dish out tough love to us. He was a man aware of the social dangers that could truncate a child’s life even before it begins. If you stayed out late, you were sure that Papa would set you right.
Papa has been widely held by his relatives, church members, close friends, business associates, neighbours and all others who knew him, as altruistic, loving, caring, compassionate, scrupulous, sincere, hardworking, enterprising, humble, God-fearing, disciplined, sagacious, knowledgeable, people-centred, gentle, humorous, neat, fearless, optimistic, impartial, a counsellor and a father to many. Indeed, he was all these and many more.
He was simply most blessed by both nature and nurture. Our father, the best tribute that we can give to you as you make this final journey is that our lives turned out right. We will not shed our tears here when there is so much that we must thank you for. We will not shed them here when we know that it is God who gave and ordered your life and it is He who has called you to glory. Our father, the best tribute that we can give to you as you make this final journey is that our lives turned out right. We will not shed our tears here when there is so much that we must thank you for.
We have lost you, but you have left a portion of yourself in each one of us. Mary will turn to Kissi anytime she needs the portion of you that you left in Kissi. Vida will turn to Joseph when he needs the portion of you that you have left in Joseph, and Paul will turn to Cecilia when he needs the portion of you that you left in Cecilia etc.
“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived are the things God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2: 9 NIV) You have earned your eternal rest. Forever, for always, for love, Papa.
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