Eternal rest grand unto them,

O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen.

Vin – baptised Michael Joseph – was born in Tralee on the 16th of October 1913. He received his primary education, first at the Presentation Convent, Tralee from 1917 to 1919 and completed it at the C.B.S. Tralee from 1919 to 1926. He went on to do his secondary studies in the same school, completing in 1933. In that year he entered Kiltegan, and was ordained in December 1939.

 

In 1940, he went to Nigeria where he ministered in the then Prefecture of Calabar. In 1946, Vin returned to Ireland and was appointed to promotion work during the years 1946 to 1950. In that year, he took up parish work in Manchester, where he remained until 1956, when he was appointed to Kenya. There, he acted as Secretary to Bishop Houlihan and combined this with pastoral work in Eldoret Town. He left Eldoret in 1970 and transferred to the Diocese of Pensacola in Florida, U.S.A. In 1974, he retired and went to live with a family in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

 

He remained there until 1984 – and in that year he retired to our house in Cliffside Park, New Jersey where he died suddenly on the 28th of August, 1988.

Edward Opiyo Anam (Eddie) was born on the 5th of November 1986 to Raphael Anam and his wife Felister Awuor of Embakasi, Nairobi, Kenya. He was the fifth born in a family of eight. Edward was a twin brother to Collins and a brother to Beatrice, Vivian, Thomas, Peter, Brian and Sharon.

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He attended Embakasi Primary doing his KCPE exam in 2000. He then proceeded to Aquinas High School where he completed his KCSE exam in 2004. In 2008, he joined Christ the King Training Institute where he graduated with a Diploma in Information Technology. He subsequently joined KASNEB Institute in 2009 where he graduated in 2010 with an Account Technician Certificate. He also enrolled for the Certified Public Accountancy Course in the same Institute graduating in 2011.

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Edward was baptized on the 24th November 1996. His desire to be a missionary priest was inspired by Fr John Joe Garvey with whom he worked in Christ the King Parish, Embakasi. He entered the Initial Formation Programme of St Patrick’s in Nakuru in 2012 where he spent two years. From there he proceeded to St Patrick’s Formation House and St Joseph’s Theological Institute in South Africa studying philosophy, graduating in 2016. His first missionary appointment (FMA) was to St Christopher Parish, Abuja, Nigeria. Later, he was appointed to St John the Evangelist Parish in Lokichoggio, Kenya where he worked from March to May in 2018. In August 2018, he joined St Patrick’s Theology House in Nairobi and enrolled in Tangaza University College for his theology studies. He was in his third year of theological studies and his diaconate ordination was due in August 2021.

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Around the 14th March 2021 Edward began to feel unwell and on the afternoon of the 19th March he was admitted at Mater Misericordia Hospital in Nairobi. He died on Saturday 10th April, 2021.

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Edward will be remembered as a simple, prayerful and approachable person. At the graveside Fr John Joe remembered Edward as “a quiet humble man, a person who loved people, he always wanted to help his brothers and sisters along the way”. May his gentle soul rest in peace.