When we would go home to Kakamega, Grandma Joan Njeri was one of the first faces to embrace us with a kind, loving smile. She was so warm that you couldn’t help but feel positivity flow throughout your being when you saw her smile.

A wife, sister, friend, aunt and mother to three children (one died about seven years ago), you would find Joan greeting and assisting customers at the front of the famous Amalemba-based ‘Anyota Shop’ from dawn to dusk. She never complained about anything except her need for her grandchildren and children to call her more often from the US. She always made time for family, and accommodated nephews, nieces, friends and children from her home village of Nyakebako. We could never fathom the depths of her generosity and kindness.

As time passed between each visit over the years, we heard about the call and response towards her declining health as a result of diabetes. Despite the challenges the disease brought, she was happy and comfortable. She died on May 16, 2018, and we wept for days as we processed how we would move forward without her light guiding us throughout our lives.

Joan is survived by her husband Robinson Bero; her children Evans Ogora, Jonathan Ogora and Peris Gesicho; her grandchildren Kwamboka Nyamangorora Achoka, Kevin Nyamangorora, Jacinta Buyaki Nyamangorora, Masongo Ogora, Kwamboka Rabera Ogora, Nyakerario Kwamboka Ogora, Reggie Gesicho, Yvanna Kwamboka Gesicho; and her great-grandchildren Ratemo, Hope and Ruth.

As she is laid to rest, the life of Joan Njeri Bero should be celebrated with uttermost pride and positivity. We know it may seem hard to continue in her absence, but we would be failing her and her legacy if we failed to aspire to be an eighth of the phenomenal woman she was. Rest in peace, Grandma.