Mrs Bernadette Chiemezie Obegolu, was born to Okoye Okwuanyanwu of Enugu-Iwa village, Obeledu and wife, Mgboye Janet, around the year 1927.
She grew up in the care and nurturing of her parents as she did not receive formal education.
Young and beautiful Bernadette got betrothed to Simeon Obegolu and they soon got married and settled down to build a good family life.
For most of their early years of marriage, they lived outside Obeledu as her husband’s initial trading business took the young family to many different places within and outside the present Anambra State. Her husband later got into the teaching profession and their travelling experience increased even more. During the Nigerian Civil War, they relocated back to Obeledu. Mrs Obegolu was blessed with a total of ten live births, five boys and five girls though she lost three during the course of her life while the rest are holding their own in life. She is also survived by twenty-eight grand and fifteen great grandchildren.
As a homemaker, she was the totality of what a wife and mother should be as well as completely peaceful and dutiful woman widely known as good natured and peace loving.
She ensured that her house was indeed a home, taking complete and adequate care of her children and husband as well as supporting him, both morally and financially in providing for the family through her main profession as a very skilled seamstress who was never short on endless streams of patrons.
Mrs Obegolu, a very industrious and active woman both in and out of the farm, was also a trader in various items including running a provision store later in life.
On the social scene, she loved to dance and was a good natural dancer especially the traditional group dances where she would often be the lead dancer and even the lead singer. For many years, she led the Iruowelle village women in the -Officer One Cultural dance group.
In the area of Church activities, Mrs Obegolu in her heyday was a great force to reckon with. A deeply pious woman, she brought her leadership qualities to bear on St. Paulina, as the Catholic Women Organization, the CWO in Obeledu, was then known. She instilled in all her children the Catholic spirit and the nonnegotiable imperative for punctuality at Mass.
Mrs Obegolu had a rather pure spirit and very delicate conscience and easily moved to tears on account of another’s misfortune however distant or unknown the individual to her.
As she transits to eternal glory, her children along with her many grand and great grandchildren and all those who knew her, celebrate this iconic and exemplary woman of character and humanity, of great love and amity, and pray that the good Lord and Master receives the soul of Ojiefi Bernadette Chiemezie Obegolu in peace in His loving Bosom Amen.
The end of a great era, a great Iroko has indeed fallen.
LADY NGOZI OKOGBUE
