Small Chinwe.
"Death is only the beginning - We love you every day and we will miss you every day"
With a very very heavy heart but with total acceptance of God's will, we announce the passing of our son, brother, nephew and friend, Francis Chukwuma Duru of Umunumo, Ehime Mbano, Imo State, Nigeria.
This memorial website is created in memory of our loved one, Francis Duru. Gone too Soon...We will remember him forever
Memorial Mass
Location: Holy Name Cathedral Chicago, Illinois
Address: 730 N. State Street, Chicago IL 60611 (parking available)
Date: Saturday, July 23, 2016
Time: 10.30am
Remembrance after mass; Share Memories & Stories
Location: Fourth Presbyterian Chicago, Illinois @ Anderson Hall
Address: 126 E. Chestnut Street, Chicago IL 60611
Time: 12.30pm - 4.00pm
Memorial Mass
Location: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Victoria Island, Lagos
Address: Musa Yar'Adua Street, Off Kofo Abayomi, VI, Lagos
Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Time: 3.30pm
Funeral Mass
Thursday, August 4th at St. Charles Catholic Church Umunumo, Ehime Mbano @ 10.30am
Private Internment thereafter @ his residence Umunumo, Ehime Mbano Imo State, Nigeria
Outing Service
Sunday, August 7th at St. Charles Catholic Church Umunumo, Ehime Mbano
Tributes
Leave a tributeSmall Chinwe.
Not too soon, just gone......
Your smile lingers after you
Your Spirit remains
Your kindness in place
The memories untarnished.
Your love for your siblings unwavering
Gone, but like a gentle storm
Unforgettable.
Love always
Gege.
Chinwe and Emmanuel, our thoughts and prayers are with you! My prayer is that the peace of God which passeth all understanding with be with you at this time and the memories of Francis will comfort you! God bless you!!!
and walk memory lane,
I would walk right up to heaven
No farewell words were ever spoken
No time to say good bye.
My heart, it aches in sadness
What it meant to loose you,
no one will ever understand
high in your heavenly home.
I would rather have you closer
but God only knows.
Rest In Perfect Peace Dear Brother.....
Writing this makes it all so real. I will never forget your humor, your jokes, your quick-witted snarky comments, your passion for a good argument (I never won an argument with you) and most importantly, your ability to hold a solid conversation on almost any topic. So well spoken, so well-read! We shall all miss all that, and more!!!! Heaven has gained another pure soul. We shall meet again with tears of joy this time. I know you are looking down on Chinwe and Emmanuel. We will do so from this end as well. We love you! We miss you! Rest in peace Francis.
It is still very hard to accept the fact that you are gone bro.
I can not help but think back to the moments, the experiences, the mischief we got up to, the fights, the laughter, all the fun times we shared and the hopes we had for the future…
I guess when I accept it, then I will start missing you. Just not possible yet.
My only hope, prayer and assurance is that you are in a better place, a place where I will see you again.
Rest in peace my brother, my cousin, my friend!
God broke our hearts to prove,
He only takes the best (Anonymous)
Na Nu Udoo Francis
From Captain Henk & Fibian
I won't see those huge eyes light up in excitement again?
Won't hear your tongue trip over itself as you rush to talk nineteen to the dozen?
Won't see you restlessly pacing because you have too much energy to sit still?
I've been in denial, but this brings it home. Life is fragile. Too fragile.
Franco, rest in peace, cousin. My God, that was hard to write.
I will love you forever. I miss you
Leave a Tribute
I miss your laugh and smile. I miss the moments you made me laugh and were a bright spot in my life.
From the day I met you, you told me that you would pass young. I wish you were still here to spread your soul's energy and your perspective and theories.
It was important to you, that people chose you and that you made a positive impact in the world. In one of our conversations about death, you mentioned that you would never tell people if you were sick or dying. You never wanted to be chosen under that circumstance. You wanted to be chosen because people chose you in that moment and realized how precious today is for us. I will incorporate this concept in my life more and not let my own life be fleeting. I will embrace each day and those I love more and more.
It was important to you that you left a trail of influential moments on others and that they would have positive things to say about you. You made me promise that I would write an epitaph. It took me years because I still woke up wishing that you were alive and flourishing. I hoped it would be rewound and you would send me a text. But at the end of the day, I made a promise and promises don't expire.
Our last conversation, you thanked me for my friendship. You thanked me for being there throughout the years. The truth is that I was grateful and am grateful for you in my life. I still miss you. I love you, Francis.
Qvd
We were boys turning into young men
We hit UI from Lagos and decided we wanted to form like voltron and be the ultimate party starters
Soroh, Biola, Slumpy, Bayode, myself, Olis and "Franco" as we called him morphed into QVD (quo Vadis)
Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Raiders, Los Angeles kings, Oakland Raiders, Boston sox Baseball caps and actual baseball bats with umbrellas that morphed into walking sticks to follow we were the ultimate "East Coast family "boys to men "abc" "bbd" live in nigeria
All too fresh
Franco been the freshest (he was the youngest of us all)
We fought all the time but Francis was always the peaceful one
The man in everyone's middle to create peace in ur young hearts
Mofa palace: is where we all crashed
Franco and baye in one room
Biola and I in another right across from one another and Olis right opposite.
Soroh always perching with someone there so he might as well have lived there.
We were together daily for years (living together, school together, night time together, ate laughed argued loved - it was endless togetherness
I can't ever forget the kids laughter hiding behind them small specs that could Barely cover his face
Really kind soul..........
I remember the time Francis came home to Nigeria after so long away. He came to visit and met my then only-son, who was special needs! Francis and I spoke about so many things, particularly life's experiences! He picked up on my fears for my son and his future and realy encouraged me and assured me that he would be fine! I really appreciated that knowing he had come through a lot (the loss of both his parents)...to still be able to reach out...he showed so much empathy! What really endeared him to me that day was that he so connected with my son on such a level...having quite a conversation with him! Most people would normally not engage my son (the way Francis did that day) based on the assumption that his skills in this area were limited. However, Francis, being who he is, connected with my son and it was truly beautiful to watch them. God bless you, Francis, for that day...for spending time with us, particularly my son, and for playing with him and treating him with such respect and dignity..just by being so normal and easy with him...truly a gentle and kind soul....
I am also so grateful for the opportunity to re-connect with Francis at Chinwe's wedding. Those were truly happy times (Francis even helped us find our son who kept on getting lost wandering off to feed his fascination with video games...)! It was really fun being there and I will always cherish those memories, particularly the wonderful speech he gave for Chinwe...his love, respect and admiration for his sister (as well as his acknowledgement of her role in his and Emmanuel's lives, and his gratitude to her for taking on the role of mother and father on the tragic loss of their parents) was so evident and clear for all to see. Yet another trait of his was made evident that day...that he is a very sensitive person...a unique and beautiful soul.....
Francis, we hold on to our memories of you! Thank you for being truly good, truly kind! I pray you are at peace with God who loves you most....
We love you. God bless you!!!
Florence (Flo)