Service Details

Funeral Service at All Saints Cathedral, Nakasero

Funeral Company

Uganda Funeral Services

The Story

Everyone has their own special memories of James Ogenga Okonya either as a husband, father, grandfather, colleague and friend. To us all he was a family man. For me and my siblings, he was above all a caring and kind father. He was not only thoughtful and honest but he was also a man of strong principles.
Dad enjoyed simple pleasures. He found it easy to smile and taught us how to appreciate the good things in life.
He always seemed to have time. He had the time to do things meticulously. So important was time to him that all those who worked with him were always advised to own a watch. Once work targets were met within time, there was always great satisfaction.
He taught us to share his many interests and passions. His love of nature particularly trees, animals and agriculture opened our eyes to an exciting world. His works will continue to live on long after he has gone. These include the wonderful natural forest restoration efforts and tourism projects in Mount Elgon and Kibale National Parks; as well as agricultural efforts at Forest Farm in Kamonkoli.
He taught us to think big, spreading his desire to explore new ideas and horizons. Our outlook to life is now like he had and this is now taking us places in our different pursuits of life.
Those who knew dad will sorely miss his consistent, sympathetic support and encouragement. He was a good listener when he needed to be and had a true gift for communicating and he used it well! He loved talking to everyone he met and would talk to anyone. It didn’t matter who they were, it made no difference to him. Everyone was treated with the same respect.
We all benefited from his many words of wisdom at whatever occasion he spoke at. When he gave a speech it was always delivered with care. It was deliberate, carefully researched, and candid and rarely missed the mark.
He was always been there for us in times of crisis and his positive outlook, unending patience and ever-willingness to help meant that a solution was never far away.
Dad’s life is summed up in a quote by Ray Bradbury who said;
“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies . . . Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die . . . It doesn't matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away."
His example has set a high standard for us to live up to. His values and principles will continue through us all.