Dear Uncle James,

I remember when we were children, you always brought a packet or two of biscuits when you visited us at home in Nairobi – we even called you ‘uncle biscuit’ :) They were those milky and thick Marie's, and you allowed us to eat all of them with tea. Because when you visited us in Nairobi you stayed overnight rather than travel back home to Nakuru late, when bedtime came, you’d ask dad to switch off the TV so we could read the bible, then you would lay your hands on me, Konnie and Ngumo and pray for us. One time, you visited with your brother, uncle Njuguna. I’d never met him before and didn’t know that he’d lost two fingers on his right hand. Our house-help at the time took me aside and told me that if I dared even shake his hand I would lose my fingers too. The prospect terrified me. You noticed that I wouldn’t shake uncle Njuguna’s hand and as you washed your hands for supper, you asked me why and I told you. I remember how you laughed in your characteristic chuckle, wiped your hands and simply stated “Wacuka, that’s not true” then you led me to uncle Njuguna and stood there while I shook his hand.

As a pre-adolescent, I remember how you’d draw me to your side in greeting, then ask me: Wacuka, niwitikirire Jesu? Wacuka have you accepted Jesus? I could never give you a straight answer. The idea that you maybe saw all of my childish waywardness and hoped I would change, embarrassed me to no end and I always hoped you’d forget to ask whenever we met. But your memory is legend and you’d always find a way to ask me every time. Such was your commitment to sharing the gospel of Jesus with me. You didn’t push, but you always made sure to tell me that Jesus loved me.

Your overwhelming acts of kindness and love to us as a family have altered our life paths forever. You and auntie hosting us during school holidays in Nakuru (always an early riser, you woke with enthusiasm and your loud singing of praise songs filled the house – much to the chagrin of us kids (especially Nyambura - :) ) who hoped to sleep in. Even after you left for the US, Auntie continued the tradition of having us over on school holidays and extended anytime drop in visits as we got older that we loved. To this day, Nakuru is our second home.
Because of you, Konnie got into Kabarak and later on you helped her plan and move to the US to study. You were as much a father to her as you were to Wambui, Nyambura, Eva and Isaac; even standing in for dad at her graduation. Your relationship with dad has been a model example to us of how friendship can be born out of blood and kinship as much as choice. You referred to each other simply as ‘cousin’ -kassin to Nyambura and me- but to us, it’s a word loaded with affection, history, connection and love and the depth and meaning from it has grounded and bonded us cousins to this day.

For me the running and avoidance of God that I did as a child ended in 2001. By the time Konnie, mum and I visited you in Mobile in 2006 and I told you about accepting Christ, I was a ministry intern. You hugged me again to your side and told me what great news it was and we talked for hours about the challenges of church ministry work. At your house in Mobile, you cooked ugali and whole tilapia for us. It was the only time we had seen or experienced any man in our family cook and it blew our minds. Mum and I expressed our surprise in humour and auntie joked that she didn’t understand why you wanted her in America if you could cook for yourself. What also surprised me most was how comfortable you were in the kitchen; standing there in front of the hot cooker, turning and turning the ugali until it was ready. You didn’t seem bothered or affected to be in a white, striped button-down shirt neatly tucked into khaki’s, chopping onions and tomatoes to fry the fish while the women folk and youth (auntie, mum, Konnie, Isaac and I) sat and listened to your jokes and stories. All through the cooking and talking, you never broke a sweat even though it was lunch time on a hot Alabama Summer day because as we learnt that afternoon, you were not only used to cooking for everyone and enjoyed doing it; you were also an avid walker/jogger/runner and flipping ugali could not compare to that.

This memory is one that will stay with us the most because that day you showed us fully the man you truly were; kind, generous with your time and counsel, unhindered by traditional ‘gender roles’ and confident in your place in the world. You were always sure of who you were and doing dishes (because you also did those) could never erase that. It is these and other values that we have seen in your children, our cousins,  and those that anyone who knows you will recognize in them as truly you.

When you and I spoke to you in 2019 on the evening after Cucu’s funeral in Nakuru, you talked about how you planned to return to Kenya permanently. You told me you had academic manuscripts that you had started to work on and we talked about helping you edit them for publishing. It is my hope that those who experienced and saw your passion and commitment to education for all regardless of age, background, gender or relation to you would find a way to help your legacy live on.

The morning Nyambura called me, barely able to speak, with news of your accident and passing, like everyone else, I couldn’t believe it. When I told dad later the same day, he choked up and hang up the phone before I finished speaking. Mum was similarly affected. You were a friend and confidant from the day she married dad and she wouldn’t have gotten through her time abroad if it wasn’t for your calls to check up on her. That night I prayed for a long time for God to raise you up again. As a family, we have struggled to understand why He, the God you made sure to bring into our lives and who later saved us, allowed you to go the way you did and even at all. We still struggle to understand and God hasn’t yet given any answers yet. I don’t know if he will. What we do know is that he has welcomed you home nonetheless and because you are absent from us in body, you are present with him as we all will be and so we believe that we will see you again.

With love and affection always, until we meet again:

Wacuka Kenyah

With

Konnie Kenyah, Ngumo Kenyah, Florence Kenyah (Mama Wamaitha) and Kenyah Ngumo.

I am going to miss Dr. James so much! He has been a huge part of my high school experience at ASMS, and he gave me my passion for cardiology through one of his classes: vertebrate zoology. He was so enthusiastic and excited to teach us the material, and the material just stuck with me whether I realized it or not, and because of how he taught, I enjoyed learning about the circulatory system especially. This school year, he made me enjoy biology even more, and was always there to help me if I ever had a problem; I would come into his office a lot during lunch, staying for about 30 minutes! I will miss his infectious smile, his very interesting stories, and his technique of helping us remember concepts in biology using these stories. He always wanted me to do more outside of class and the material he taught to understand biology even more, and he wanted me to excel. He have taught us well, and we will succeed because of him! Thanks for everything! You will be missed! 

Memories of Mwalimu's neatness & love for short sleeved shirts linger on.Reflections of my days in Nakuru High School are not complete without picturing him walking fast to his assignments.

Dr. James gave me a love for Biology and an appreciation for life. He was a true man of God, and would always be singing hymns when I would visit him after class. I had the good fortune to be in his classes since my first day at ASMS, and have taken nearly all the classes he taught plus his special project. In my time in these classes, I learned so much about Biology, but the most valuable lessons he gave all of us was about life. He would love to tell us stories about everything from his childhood to his time teaching. You could always tell how hard he worked to change his students lives for the better, and how much he cared for everyone around him. He always went the extra mile for us and was willing to help with whatever. I still have the video from when I interviewed him for a different class, but like always he was happy to help. Dr. James was one of the best teachers I have ever had and gave something to all his students that goes far beyond the classroom.

Dr. James was one of the best men on this planet, and definitely one of the very best people I will ever know. I've only known him for about a year now I guess, but he has made one of the biggest impacts on my life. Both Zoology classes I had with him, I did not originally intend to be placed in, but I think God had something different in mind and wanted me to meet Dr. James. He always was kind to every single person he met, and I will never forget the four or five minutes I would come to class early and we would sit and talk about our lives, my future, his past students, or he would just sing hymns. I will really miss hearing his stories and being in a class with him. He put others needs above all else, and he will forever inspire me on how I should live. I'm forever thankful that I met him, and I will never forget the impact he has had on me. I know he is finally at peace now, and Heaven gained a great man.

Dr. Njengere was an outstanding teacher and a great person across continents. We loved him greatly at Kabarak High School in Kenya in 1986-87 when he was our Christian Union Club Patron and Biology teacher. I finally graduated and joined the workforce and eventually came to Washington D.C in 2006. I have since toured Alabama several times without knowing he had settled there. It is so sad to lose him but we take solace that he was a strong believer. Alabama, he was our great teacher in Kenya before he became your great teacher, and now heaven has yet another angel. RIP teacher!  

I never had the chance to have a class with him, but I was lucky to have a few interactions with him to get to know him. In the elevator when we ran into each other as I rushed to class, he would ask me how I was doing and if I was doing okay but in a sincere way which is not common for someone to do when they don't even know your name. But what I most remembered him by was when I was in one of the second floor classrooms after 8th period, I would always hear humming and singing out in the halls. The teachers would smile and say "Dr. James loves to sing." I like to think he's still singing. Rest In Peace. I hope I get to know you one day.

Dr. James was honestly the best person ever and I’m gonna miss his stories about Kenya, his songs he used to sing and how excited he got when talking about sports. He was one of my favorite teachers and he always spoke to me no matter what he was doing. I took majority of my biology classes with him. I’m gonna miss our daily morning conversations. He was always very nice and helpful no matter what he  had going on in his life personally. He will be missed. Rest in paradise Dr. James

James , my friend, my Teacher, Rest in peace. For those who do not Know James was my Teacher at Endarasha High School, Biology the subject James knew to the teeth.. and so I also became. It is all well brother. Peace be with you , Wangari and others May the Love of Dad be with you for ever.

The last time I saw Dr. James was when I graduated from the Arkansas School of Math and Sciences in 2003. However, he was one of the most impactful in my life. He showed that you don't have to choose who to let into your heart; but instead, your heart can always grow bigger. His love for his students was unmatched. He will be greatly missed, and fondly remembered.

During morning assembly on my first Friday as a fresh Form One student in Nakuru High School (NHS) Mwalimu gathered all Form One kids (better known as njukas) and demanded that by Monday morning we should all bring grasshoppers - min of 5 per student and each grasshopper had to be no smaller than the middle finger. Needless to say I spent my enter first weekend roaming the thick brush and bushes of NHS risking encounters with venomous snakes etc..Come Monday morning I only had two grasshoppers both slightly bigger than my pinky and one had not made it through the weekend alive. I remember the look on his face - he was seething with rage because he thought I was trying to be funny. Thanks for asking; the grasshoppers were for the Form V students dissection experiments. Sure why not take advantage of free Form One labor force and also help them get acclimated to their new environment. It’s times like these where we looked to the heavens and asked God to send locusts just for that weekend. I didn’t enjoy my first weekend but the lesson I learned was that Mwalimu always went the extra mile to take care of his Biology students!!

We are deeply saddened to share of the tragic loss of one of our faculty members, Dr. James Njenge're, in a car accident this week in Baldwin County. (...) Dr. James has worked as a faculty member in the ASMS Biology Department for 15 years. Before that, he taught at the Arkansas School of Math, Science, and the Arts.

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