Frida "Mammy Miss" Mande Mokube - Online Memorial Website

Music and singing fill the air

Ava Maria songs of care

My heart is warm when you are near

Inside my soul you’re always there

Moments pass and moments go

I feel alone, but this I know

Sabbath day shall come again

Songs of praises will fill my head

You’re here in spirit, watching

Over me. As I grow your

Unbinding love consumes me

We laugh and smile as life goes by

Inside we cry

Look. You’ve touched us

Loving our souls

Bending from above to comfort our blows

Earnestly we want you to know

Mami Miss you will be missed

Inside our hearts you’ll always live

Songs of mercy songs of care

Singing our praise for all to hear

Each of us have something we share

Distant but so close; you’re always there

When asked to speak on behalf of all of the grandchildren, I was quite honored but a little nervous that I would not do it justice. We all had many names for her: Frida, Mande, Mrs. Mokube, Mom, Sister, Grandma, or as most of us called her Mami Miss.

She was and still is a remarkable woman.

I had the honor of knowing her on a personal basis. As many of you know, I am Aida Mande Mokube, Mami Miss’s namesake. She was the only grandparent that got to see me grow up into the woman I am now. I got to spend time with her and learn from her as I grew. When I was younger I would sometimes get scared and have nightmares, but I always knew that Grandma would be there to remind me to “trust in the Lord and I shall be protected”.

One thing that I remember most about Mami Miss is her love for God. I know that most if not all of us grandchildren learned about how to praise the Lord through Grandma’s teachings. She would wake up and pray, go about the day singing praises,and end the night with a prayer. She would often invite me to sing with her and to say the evening prayer. The singing is the most significant. I know that everyone here remembers at least one time where they heard Mami Miss singing as loud as she could. She praised the Lord with all her might and all her will; living each day to please the Lord.

It is hard to come to acceptance, but keep in mind that she is in a better place now. She now gets to wake up and see the Lord, go about her day with the Lord, and end the night in heavenly peace. Mami Miss has touched many people throughout her lifetime. A teacher, a mother, a sister, a friend, a grandmother I want everyone to remember her for all the good memories. This will not be the last time we get to be with Grandma. She will be with us every time we take a breath, watching over us, keeping us safe as she did for me when I was a child.

Aida Mande

Mami-miss, you were this Mother (Prov.31:10-31)

Mama, your works will bring you praise, you were a devoted mother. You sacrificed so much for your children you gave us all that we needed to become useful citizens. I will ever remain grateful for having a mother like you. Knowing the importance of sound education you make sure that we all went to Mission Secondary schools- C.P.C. Bali, P.H.S Kumba, Saker Baptist College Victoria, etc. so that we could obtain sound education not only in academics but also moral and spiritual. You deprived yourself a lot of pleasure only to save money for our education. How I wish you lived a little longer to eat the fruits of your labor. When the fruits were getting ripe you were stroke down and so you could not enjoy them. And now you have slept to wake no more, may you really rest in peace.

Mama you taught us how to love God and to have the fear of God in us. During the family devotions each morning you taught us how to pray and read the Bible and memorize Bible verses. I still remember some of those verses. Thank you for sowing the seed of God’s word in my heart.

Mama your hospitality has left a lasting impact in my life. You made our house the home for the people so that any time a visitor came there was food available. You taught us to serve everyone who came to our home big and small. You often total us that God sometimes send angles to visit homes in the form of human beings like the in the case of Abraham.

You taught us never to discriminate and to share whatever we have with others. Thank you for this lesson. It has helped me so much as keep on flowing into my home.

Mami-miss you were a role model for mothers, wives, teachers etc. you taught me how a wife should love and submit to her husband. You led us to honor our father by the way you honored him and you called him ‘Papa’. No child could offend papa and run to mama or vice versa. You always agreed with him and did the discipline together. I remember when any of us did something wrong, when Papa says ‘Esarori’ mama will echo ‘e no fine’ so we all knew that if you were in trouble with mama you were in trouble with papa. This helped us to be honest, obedient and transparent. Your constant checks on how I dressed and the friends I kept, molded me into the woman I am today.

My mother! My teacher! My counselor! I could not do all that I desire to do to express my gratitude to you, but the God who gave you to me will reward you. May his name be praised.

We did learn a lot from you, “Gans” or “higher, higher” as we use to call you. Our desire is that, Almighty God should grant you eternal rest. You taught us all from childhood, how to cook, wash our clothes and also to be God fearing. We remember how we use to accompany you to trekking from Soba Street to attend funeral service. We thank you so much because through your God fearing behavior, the family is blessed with two elders, though one is of late (Mokube James Misodi). Elder Mokube Samuel Fonmbah is still alive. We will always remember you and we know that the good God who brought you into this mother earth has taken you back.

May your soul rest in perfect peace.

Your sons and daughter

Elder Mokube Samuel Fonmbah; Mokube Smith Sakwe;

Mokube Mbua Alexander; Mokube Grace Ngonde

Mami Miss, I thank the Almighty GOD for bringing us into this world through you. You were not only like a mother but also a Special Friend indeed. Everyone wanted to be or have you by his/her side. Your voice is still and will continue to echo into our ears when you used to tell stories, sing with your lovely voice, make remarks and suggestions, advice and encourage us, you name it. One could hardly feel that one day, you will leave this world. When you could no longer sing aloud, you nodded your head or conducted with your hands whenever you listened to Christian songs and sometimes Jr. Teke and Baby Meg Emeri both sang beside you. We are already and will continue to miss you Mami Miss, and at the same time we thank the Almighty GOD for receiving you into His Kingdom on Palm Sunday April 1, 2012, when his Son Jesus Christ our LORD and Savior entered Jerusalem triumphantly.

Your son:

Peter Teke Mokube

I came home from church with my family thousands of miles away. It was April, 1, 2012. For some reason, I left my phone at home and did not realize that I had ten missed calls. Upon entering the door, I noticed my wife was on the phone talking and when she hung up, she said it had happened! Mami Miss is gone home. My first instinct was that this was an April fool’s day joke, it was that day indeed but, the seriousness in her eyes told me everything. I then checked my phone and the rest is history.

It is an honor and privilege to pay tribute to a very special person. Mami Miss as we grew up calling her was remarkable in so many ways. She lived her life to the fullest and touched so many people during her time here with us. We all have a phantasmagoria of memories that we will always carry with us - memories that defined Mami Miss; memories that I will always hold dear.

Allow me to share some of the special memories that I have - memories that personify her and a life well lived.

As I look through the mirage of her life I see the many valued and meaningful roles that she played. First and foremost I see Mami Miss the mother, protector and my voice. I am an introvert and my greatest mouthpiece is no more. She loved all her children unequivocally and selflessly but, she loved me dearly. Word has it that she wanted a girl so bad that before having me, she had purchased some girl outfits and I wore them for a while (I cannot vouch for that), but I do know that of all my brothers, I was the one who spent the most time with her as a child. I stayed with Mami Miss every time my dad was transferred to a different station, while she was waiting for her transfer from the Presbyterian Mission to go through so she can be stationed with her husband. To that end, I did miss out staying in Ekondo Titi, Nkambe, and Wimbum to mention a few, because Mami Miss never received a transfer permit to these cities. I will always cherish the times we were in Tiko (a modest home behind the

Presbyterian Church by the motor park); in Muyuka, when she became the headmistress for a short period but ultimately had to return to the classroom because that is where her passion was; and in Victoria (our modest home behind Girls school) with sister Vero and little (of late) Big P. It was in Victoria that Mami Miss first made it possible for me to leave away from her. She was consoled by the fact that her brother, my uncle F.I., was only a few miles drive to Bota. The second instance was in my senior year at GSS Nyasoso, where I stayed with my aunt in Kumba.

As the dream turns, I see Mami Miss- one of the few women who did not like going to the market and bargain for things. Leaving with Mami Miss for so long gave me experience of going to the market at an early age. From Tiko, through Muyuka to Victoria, I developed shopping skills that would benefit me later in life. From a cultural perspective, it is unthinkable for a woman to not like going to the market but, Mami Miss was the exception to the rule. One time I accompanied her to the market and she offered to pay full price for something I knew would have been purchased for less. Her argument was that if you want to get something from the market, you go, get it and leave.

The kaleidoscope turns again and I see Mami Miss a compassionate, humble and caring mother. This time it was 1986, I just graduated from the University of Yaoundé and Mami Miss had just started working at the Kosala Government School. I was involved in a deadly accident along the Douala-Edea road. Mami Miss dropped everything and came straight to the Douala Hospital where she slept on the floor for several weeks to take care of me. Words cannot sum up the way I feel about this selfless act by my mother. She could have stayed in Kumba because she had just started at a new school. She could have asked Sister ‘K’ to handle it, but she came to Douala to be by her son.

It is impossible to pay tribute to Mami Miss without recognizing the important role that spirituality played in her life. As we have traveled today through some of the wonderful memories in her life - we realize that her quiet faith guided her actions, words and deeds. She strove always to be the best she could be - mother, auntie, teacher, friend and champion to others. She would travel to all CWF rallies, and attend funerals wherever they were. Mami Miss was an elder who took her function seriously.

It is very hard to say goodbye and we don't want to, but we need to remember that she touched so many people's lives, so positively. She leaves an amazing legacy behind. Mami Miss left the world a better place than when she found it and for that we will always be grateful. Mami Miss, we miss you - but we remember you fondly – always.