William Paapa Inkumsah

We were blessed with a father who stood tall and handsome, loved the finest things in life but exhibited such humility with what God had blessed him with. He very rarely raised his voice to reprimand us and was full of love, laughter, uncanny humour and always had a joke to share or a witty comment to make.

Dad was generous to a fault. He educated all and sundry, paying the fees of countless children as well as giving money to the needy. We’ve often wondered how he was able to achieve all this without it impacting his family commitments. 

He was a ‘Tree of Life’ to many. A picture that will always remain with us is: the scenes of numerous people seated in rows of chairs, waiting to see him early in the morning to tell him of their problems knowing that they will most definitely leave with a solution in hand. This ‘doctor’s waiting room’ scene was a daily occurrence and he would see to their needs before heading to Tema every morning for work. When asked why he encouraged or perhaps enabled this culture, his response was: ‘no man is an island’ and ‘one never knows where one’s help would come from’ or ‘if you don’t give you won’t receive’.

His life was clearly modelled on biblical principles as he would often use scriptural anecdotes to make a point or state the obvious. He clearly did what Christ would do by feeding the poor, visiting the sick, clothing the naked, giving shelter to the homeless, caring for the widow and orphan and simply being an all round ‘Good Samaritan’. He possessed and lived by the fruits of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control a demonstration of the work of the Holy Spirit in his life.

Looking back on dad’s life, he could be described as ‘the boy with a hole in his heart’.

A hole borne out of tremendous personal loss and grief resulting from the death of his father when he was 9 years old, the death of his beloved mother, the death of the love of his life and first wife Anna Sackey and finally the death of his wife, Gladys Boison. 

In an attempt to plug this hole and ease his pain, daddy searched for the truth. His search was for something that would take him out of a dark and helpless place. He was looking for peace and answers and perhaps an opportunity to be ‘in the know’ spiritually of what is to come. This search led him to the practise of Hinduism in which he found solace, strength and purpose for many years. His daily practice of meditation and weekly commitment to fasting and prayer was a way of life for him.

He encouraged us on occasion to sit and focus on scripture and develop the art of meditation. Although he was deeply steeped in Hinduism, he never forced any of us to follow his path but equally encouraged our spiritual journey in Christ.

Out of the hole in his heart, dad loved multitudes of people and physically demonstrated this through giving, imparting wisdom, exhibiting kindness and tenderness at any given opportunity. 

We will remember you for your intelligence; a man who we never saw using a calculator yet was always accurate in calculating figures with too many digits to count.

Your business and economic acumen was second to none, we often wondered how you could posses such knowledge and eloquently and succinctly communicate your ideas. You always had a business idea up your sleeve …incredible!

A hardcore plant and animal lover who would enjoy walking through the garden at home inspecting the plants as well as travel as far as Singapore to purchase rare breeds of Siamese cats. Our home was a habitat to rabbits, cats, dogs, parrots, chickens, goats..and the list goes on.

A lover of the sea; you were an incredible swimmer who could swim so far out into the ocean, get lost under the waves and still make your way back to shore as though you’d just stepped in and out of the shower. Our weekend trips to Kokrobite beach with the Essuman and Coker families was always a treat and so much fun for all the kids.

A true patron of roadside hawkers. You loved your ‘koose’, peanuts and boiled corn and would always end up emptying a hawkers tray much to their delight just to put a smile on their faces and meet their need for the day.

An avid sportsman; you had so much knowledge of European football teams and thoroughly enjoyed discussing and debating teams with substandard managers and its impact on the team’s performance.

A lover of music; you enjoyed listening to classical music for hours and ensured we all learnt to play the piano. 

Our countless hours of music practice and seemingly noisy performances never disturbed or bothered you but rather you encouraged us to work hard towards higher music grade accomplishments. 

A faithful friend to your circle of friends; we witnessed your unwavering dedication to your friends and the sacrifices and lengths you would go to assist them and their families when they sought your help. Your passing has re-connected us to so many of these families and stories of the love and support you extended is astounding.

A committed family man both to your nuclear and extended family. You touched, blessed, supported, provided, counselled and loved each and every family member in countless ways over the course of your life and no words can do you justice.

We will remember you for being a hands-on dad, who would occasionally step into the kitchen and try to assist with cooking, your knowledge of cooking was incredulous. Your infectious smile and laughter, fun loving nature, wittiness and humour, gentleness and kindness is engrained in the fabric of our lives forever.

A Father to many and a deep lover at heart. We’ve been blessed to have you as our Captain and guide all our lives, teaching us to work hard, be diligent and dedicated to service and serving others, to be generous without expecting anything in return as only God can reward the one who gives, to love and forgive and leave the rest to God and always imparting wise words with much endearment and tenderness. You were God sent and we are grateful. We will always love you! We thank God you are finally united with the love of your life and resting in the bosom of Jesus Christ your Saviour. Thank you for being a unique and awesome dad! 

Rest In Peace!

Your Beloved Children.