Michael Gyampo

I lost a truly remarkable friend this week. Patrick brought old mates and friends together wherever he went – US, Australia, Europe, everywhere. Back home in Ghana, he was the all-round social glue. He it is who brought the entire year group of school mates back together, in the very early days of WhatsApp group chats. He amusingly called it a ‘social experiment’. Well, that experiment thrived to the roof. And it sure is buzzing right now, with touching tributes to his benevolent soul. Despite his constant presence in the social spaces, he never spoke much. He seemed to value the company of people much more than the arguments. Make no mistake, though – he oozed wisdom and insight whenever he spoke.

Patrick knew when someone else was in trouble. He seemed to have a sixth sense tuned to reading needs. He gave and gave and gave some more. I remember him offering to put his car and driver at my disposal when I came down to bury my dear mum. When I visited with my family a couple of years back, he and Lynda feted us to a memorable lunch, and he was always insisting on us staying at his place when we were in town.

We had our last family lunch together a little over 3 weeks ago – in that legendary garden that has hosted so many others. We sipped rounds of chilled coconut juice between chats. My boys enjoyed chatting with him….stories from Dartmouth.

Patrick, thank you so much for everything. You were truly a brother. Your legacy will speak well beyond your life. For today, I just want to say ‘thank you’ – on behalf of my family. Evelyn admired you so much and the kids always wanted to visit Uncle Patrick. We thought we were going to have lots more times together. We couldn’t have guessed…

Farewell, dear friend. Words fail me…….!

From Michael Gyampo