BIOGRAPHY OF PATRICK KWAKU GYAN

Patrick Kwaku Gyan was a man whose life was a quiet but powerful testimony of love, gentleness, kindness and hard work. From his earliest days, he carried a quiet radiance that made him unforgettable. As a young adult, he was gentle in his interactions, thoughtful in his gestures, and instinctively kind. He moved through the world with a softness that made people feel at ease around him.

His birth on March 17th, 1956, was a blissful moment to Opanin Bernard Yaw Owusu-Gyan and Madam Theresa Owusu-Gyan, both of blessed memory and the entire family of the late Papa Anthony Gyan and Maame Anna Akua Addowaa of the peaceful town of Jema, now the administrative capital of Kintampo South District of Ghana’s Bono East Region.

His formal education started at the then Dogomoro Practice School in Navrongo and he continued at Jema LA Middle School, when he went to live with our grandmother at Jema. This was after our father and uncle Daddy Owusu-Gyan, who was Bursar at the St, John Bosco’s Training College (now the Navrongo Campus of the University of Development Studies) was transferred to Bagabaga Training College now Bagabaga Collage of Education in Tamale.

Afterwards, Braa Patrick moved to Accra, to stay with the late Daddy Simon Yaw Adu-Gyan, elder brother of Daddy Owusu-Gyan. This was because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Daa Yaw Adu – a tradesman, who at that time was working with the Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation at Weija. However, his interest in driving superseded all others things. So, he was supported to learn driving and became one of the best professional drivers in Ghana. He started as a commercial driver in the late 1970’s and became recognized as a driver of professional repute.

However, his career was intercepted in the late 1980’s, when with the help of his father’s youngest brother Hon. Akwasi Adu-Gyan he travelled abroad – first to Israel and later to Belgium to avail himself of existing opportunities there. On his return, he went back to his known profession, going commercial again, then private and eventually became an official driver on a World Bank sponsored Government of Ghana IT project hosted at the Ministry of Communication. When the project ended, he entered into private driving again.

During Braa Patrick’s long driving career – wherever and with whomever he worked – he stood out as a gentle, humble, respectful and hardworking man. When he was forced to give up active driving due to problems with his eyes, he did not see that as reason to take life easy. His commitment to hard work and excellence pushed him to take up management of a friend’s pure water producing firm in Jema, and again in Bodwiase, Central Region, he turned another friend’s failed poultry farm into a productive venture. However, the work load had become too much for him because of ill health. So, he stopped and came home to rest with his wife and children.

Overtime, his health deteriorated and on November 29th, last year, he finally exited this world, three months short of his 70th birthday.

Braa Patrick met and eventually married Adwoa Mercy on July 17, 1982. Together, they built a beautiful life first at Mamprobi. Later, they moved to Racecourse, where they had built their own house. The marriage was blessed with three wonderful children, namely: Kwaku, Afua, and Ewura Abena; and three beloved grandchildren – Floyd Jayden, Alfreda, and Kenderick.

As a family, we are proud of his deep affection for and commitment to his wife and children. He took very good care of his children, guiding them with patience, love, and a steady hand, ensuring that they are all educated and gainfully employed at the time of his departure from this life.

He was one of the most loving, gentle, serviceable and kind souls in our family. Always willing to make others happy and put them at ease. His kindness knew no bounds and his home was always open to all of us – nobody was turned away from their doors.

Braa Patrick was dependability personified: he was the one we relied on to check on others or take up urgent assignments on our behalf. He was serviceable to everyone who interacted with him irrespective of their age, social status or background. It is no wonder that among all of us, he was the person who got the most support from the family.

In remembering him, we remember a soul who touched not just our lives but that of others through the quiet power of kindness, gentleness and dependability.