Vice President, Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, joined mourners at the forecourt of the State House, Accra on Saturday for the funeral and burial rites of Opanyin Samuel Kwame Agyepong, the late father of the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong.
Former Presidents—John Dramani Mahama and John Agyekum Kufuor—were equally present to commiserate with Dr. Agyepong’s family.
Opanyin Samuel Kwame Agyepong died on last June, aged 98, after a short illness.
As early as 5: 00 a.m., the funeral grounds had been flooded by hundreds of mourners from across the country.
Among the mourners were the Speaker of Parliament, Honourable Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, Chief of Staff, Mrs. Frema Opare, high ranking government officials, MPs, members of the diplomatic community and heavyweights from across the political spectrum.
Also in attendance were some prominent chiefs and queen mothers, the clergy and sympathisers from the general public.
Delivering the pre-burial service sermon, Apostle Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Kumi-Woode, admonished the gathering that the Lord will surely raise the dead.
The man of God, who took his sermon from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, said death marked the end of man’s journey on planet earth.
He stressed that for those in the Lord, death was just the beginning of “joy and hope,” but added that pain and misery will be the portion of those who do not know God.
“If you are here and you don’t have Christ, then your life is in crisis no matter what you have done or accomplished in life,” he warned.
“When your last trumpet of death is sounded, the one with Christ becomes more hopeful while those without Christ start with a life of pain and misery,” Lt. Colonel Kumi-Woode said.
Early Life
Opanyin Agyepong was born on the 7th of June, 1924 in Banka in the Eastern Region of Ghana to Opanyin Kwaku Kissi (aka Kwaku Nyame) and Obaapanyin Yaa Anumwah both distinguished natives and members of the Obo Aduana Clan.
He was a son that in time will become an outstanding man through ingenuity, enterprise and hard work. He was a lovely child of the rich colonial-oriented purlieu woven with flamboyant photogenic heritage of being Obo Aduana. These emanated from values such as his sweet and amiable temper. Beyond many recounted details and various anecdotes illustrate the extent of young Samuel’s charm and influence on his peers with a great sense of responsibility and integrity.
He possessed the hallmark of a distinguished gentleman who treated everyone humanely.
Education
For his education, Opanyin Agyepong enrolled in Obo Government School in 1934 to acquire elementary education. He exited the formal school system at Standard Seven.
He did not continue his formal education beyond Standard Seven due to a multiplicity of factors such as his burning desire to manage his own affairs and engage in entrepreneurship.
With this background preparation, Samuel Agyepong ventured into work.