Ezinne Mary Anezi Ukabam

Ezinne Mary Anezi Ukabam (nee Okoli) was born on 15 April 1930 into a close-knit community where family bonds, respect for elders, and faith were daily practice.

From the very beginning, her life carried the steady imprint of God's providence, shaping her with depth and purpose.

In Scripture we are reminded that no life begins by accident.

Though Mama's formal education ended in Primary Three, her learning did not. Her life became a quiet rebuttal to the idea that wisdom can only be measured by certificates.

She absorbed knowledge through observation, responsibility, prayer, and the everyday discipline of doing what needed to be done.

True wisdom is not merely information; it is judgement, restraint, and love expressed through action. Mama carried that kind of wisdom naturally, and people felt it in the way she spoke, advised, corrected, and encouraged.

In her early adult years, Mama entered marriage with Mazi Sylvester Chukwu Ukabam, and together they built a home shaped by devotion, responsibility, and shared purpose.

Their household was not simply a place to live; it was a place where values were formed, where children, visitors, and neighbors could sense order, care, and the quiet strength of a woman who understood what it meant to carry a family.

Christianity speaks of love not as a feeling that comes and goes, but as a covenant expressed in steadfastness.

Mama was the mother of a large and flourishing family, raising her children with a balance that is rare: prayer and principle, tenderness and discipline, patience and high standards.

She did not simply raise children; she formed character. She corrected because she cared. She insisted on dignity because she understood what it protects in a person.

The greatest gift many of us receive from a parent is not perfection, but consistency: the sense that love is dependable and values are stable.

Beyond her home, Mama became the kind of person communities rely on: not necessarily the loudest voice, but the steady presence whose counsel was trusted and whose generosity had no trumpet.

Those who encountered her often describe a woman who made space for others: space to speak, to be understood, to be fed, to be strengthened.

Hospitality, in its truest sense, is not simply offering food; it is offering dignity. Mama did both.

As the family grew, Mama's love expanded with it. Grandmotherhood and great-grandmotherhood brought a new kind of joy: seeing prayers answered across generations.

Grandparents anchor family identity. They keep stories alive. They remind everyone where we come from.

Mama carried that role with pride and gentleness, celebrating each new generation with gratitude and quiet delight.

Even in later life, Mama continued to embody what she had always been: steady, prayerful, dignified, and full of quiet strength.

The Bible describes a life like this as one that remains fruitful, still offering shade, counsel, and blessing even as years pass.

In 2025, Mama reached the remarkable milestone of 95 years, a life marked not only by longevity, but by meaning. She remained surrounded by family, upheld by faith, and remembered with deep honor.

A line that captures the spiritual heartbeat of her story is the verse held close in the family: "Onye ka m bu na Chineke na-echere m echiche oma" (Psalm 8:4). It is a reminder that God sees, remembers, and holds a person's life with purpose.

On 4 December 2025, in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, she went peacefully, surrounded by family, and her legacy continues in every life she shaped, every prayer she prayed, and every value she modeled.