Comfort Amakuor Agblo (Née Dseagu)

Comfort Amakuor Dseagu, fondly known as Taati, was born on June 7, 1939 at her maternal grandfather’s home in Big Ada, Ghana. Taati was the second born of six children as well as the second girl born to Joseph Doku Dseagu, a Presbyterian Catechist, and Lydia Buermle Boye-Doye Dseagu, a devoted wife and foster mother to many children. Taati loved talking about the Boye-Doe sangu (storey building) where she had many precious interactions with countless extended family members. There is no doubt that Taati greatly enjoyed her childhood.

Taati grew up in different mission homes and attended different primary and middle mission schools in different locations as her father was transferred multiple times. She had stories from Ningo, Labadi, Teshie, Osu, Adabraka, Abokobi and Koforidua, among others, and when her father retired and the family finally returned to Ada-Foah in 1961. Taati married Theophilus Teye Agblo in 1966 and left behind four children: Laura, Lauretta, Laurencia and Laurence. Whenever she was asked about the similarity of the names, she would laugh and explain that her father chose the names for her. Taati worked as an educationist; something she enjoyed and was really proud of. She was the quintessential home science supervisor and was all about getting the cake mixture right, setting the table with matching tablecloths and crockery or making sure that the patterns for your outfit were right. She could stitch an outfit by hand, sew beautiful curtains, alter any garments that you gave to her and create beautifully embroidered tablecloths. She taught us how to embroider patterns and our names on socks and handkerchiefs. She always brought out her old cookery books if you had questions about making challenging dishes. Taati was an avid collector of fancy crockery and anything that beautified the home. She was hardworking and very neat. Her handwriting was especially impressive. She could write in straight lines on a blank page as if she had ruled lines to guide her. She had weekly menus that were so beautifully planned and written out that would make Martha Stewart envious. Taati did not like anything out of order and always found something to clean or straighten around the house. She was also very particular about looking neat, presentable and fashionable. Some colleagues of hers who met us decades later would say things such as, Your mother was so fashionable. She was always well dressed. We always borrowed clothes, shoes, perfumes, and wigs from her. Taati also had a green thumb and enjoyed planting and tending to her flowers, especially her roses. She was always excited to cut fresh flowers for the house. She cherished the fresh flowers she got for mother’s day and her birthday from the garden.

Taati had many other interests such as history, politics, sports, reality shows and old movies, especially western movies. She could give you the history behind personalities such as John Wayne or Bibi Netanyahu. You could hear her laughing or fussing as she watched something on TV. She was a night owl and would stay up all night to watch something of interest such as tallying votes wherever voting was going on around the world. She created her own journals on various topics. She knew everything about almost every soccer team, especially the English Premier League; be it the players, the managers, transfers, etc. Taati was a die-hard Chelsea fan who sought to watch every one of their matches. She was glued to the TV on weekends watching soccer and would be bored out of her mind when the season ended. She had her notebooks to record all pertinent information for the English Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, World Cup, etc. We always teased her that she should have been a technical coach as she always shouted at the coaches and players about what needed to be done to score a goal and win a match. Sometimes you would think they heard her because they would make the exact change that she was shouting about and suddenly the team would score a goal. She would shout, “I told you… I told you!” We can never forget her shouting, “It’s there” and jubilating when her team scored a goal. With respect to Ghanaian soccer teams, Dad loved Olympics and Taati loved Hearts of Oak. Sunday afternoon football was interesting at our home.

Taati also loved tennis and talked about the neat white tennis outfits that they wore back in the day when they played tennis and when they went to watch the tennis greats at international tournaments in Accra. In the world of professional tennis, Taati loved Roger Federer but loved Rafael Nadal even more. She was thrilled when she received his autobiography as a gift. We would wake up at odd hours to watch Nadal’s matches, especially during the Australian Open. She also liked Venus and Serena. You had to see her shouting at them when they made mistakes or were losing their matches. Ooh…. Nadaaal, come on…. why?… Ooh… Federer… Oh… Serena… why? Taati loved horses and shared stories about watching and betting on horse racing at the Osu Racecourse. In the US, she followed horse racing events. She also loved car racing and watched championships such as Formula One and NASCAR. She was sad when Ayrton Senna died. Taati was always a lover of animals and had many cats and dogs over the years. Her last pet, whom she left behind, is an orange American short-haired cat called Tibby. Taati trained Tibby rather impressively and spoilt her to no end. Tibby followed her wherever she went and continues to sit where she and Taati used to sit at various times during the day. She also continues to lie on Taati’s bed where Tibby fought her over bed space.

Taati was proudest of her deepened relationship with God over the course of her life. She was a devout follower of Jesus. She spent a great deal of her free time praying and reading her Bible. She had long lists of things to pray about: nations, politicians, public figures, neighbors, etc. Taati prayed constantly for her family. She always lamented about not having a singing voice but you could always hear her singing around the house; whether she was cooking, gardening, just relaxing or coloring intricate designs; another activity she enjoyed in her past time. Some of her favorite sayings, some of which she said she learnt from her father, were, Cheap things cost dearly… patience is a virtue… Have faith in God… Nothing is impossible with God… In all things, give thanks.

Taati moved to the US in 2007 after dad died in 2005. She spent her golden years doing the things she loved. She particularly enjoyed having the grandchildren spend their summers with her and instilling some much-needed discipline in them. They sat and listened to her stories and asked her questions. She loved to share the Bible and pray with all of her children and grandchildren. Sunday night prayer was mandatory in the house. Taati had begun preparing us for her transition in November 2020 with comments such as, I don’t have much time left… I will be leaving soon… the angels are here preparing me to go home… I don’t need to eat anymore. She really was serious about booking her ticket to her eternal vacation in paradise. Taati was hospitalized on March 16, 2021 for a stroke. She transitioned from her earthly home to her heavenly home on March 28, 2021. She had lived her life: hardworking, honest, assertive, outspoken, loyal, fiercely protective of her loved ones, devout, kind and sweet. Her last words to the family days before her death were, There’s nothing God cannot do. She said those words with that twinkle that she had in her eyes when she talked about God and that sweet smile that she always wore on her face. Taati was preceded in death by her parents and husband. She is survived by her five siblings, four children, five grandchildren, numerous nephews, nieces, grand- and great-grand nephews and nieces. 

Taati, although you are absent from your body and physically separated from us, we know that your spirit will always be with us and watch over us. We are happy that you are present with the Lord. We cannot even imagine your joy at meeting the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus; whom you loved and worshipped so dutifully and joyfully. You are living the words of your favorite songs now: …in the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore…. when the roll is called up yonder… when the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there…. Our consolation is in this scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4: 13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 

Taati yaa wo odzogbann. Mo ya wo saminya. Rest well in the bosom of our Lord until we meet again. We love you our Mama Igweeee.