“Black Jew” Loses His Mother

By Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr.

Burial and funerary rites for Madam Janet Akua Aniwah, 76, will be held at the Akuapem-Adukrom Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Cemetery on Friday, April 8, 2011. The deceased was the mother of popular Bronx, New York, businessman, Mr. Martin Larbi, alias “Black Jew.”

Born on May 15, 1935 at Nkurakan, in the Yilo-Krobo District of the Eastern Region, to Mr. Kwabena Kyame and Madam Yaa Konyo, the late Janet Akua Aniwah had no formal education. She would, however, be apprenticed to a locally renowned dressmaker by the name of Maame Ewusi, who lived in the village of Topaase, near Akyem-Asamankese in the Eastern Region.

Mr. Martin Larbi, the eldest of six adult children, four males and two females, described his mother as a loving and caring disciplinarian who ensured that each and every one of her children would turn out successfully.

“Our mother was an extremely honest, strict, firm and frank woman who walked the talk,” Black Jew said and added, “She was a disciplinarian who never countenanced any mischief or truancy from any quarter. Behind all her strictness, though, was a heart of gold that was filled with a lot of love.”

Black Jew also said that his mother who died on Tuesday, December 21, 2010, had not been in the best of health during the last six years of her life. “Her regular attendance at the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital, at Akuapem-Mampong, sustained her considerably. However, being a devout Christian who always tried to live by faith, she bravely developed the ability to endure hardship, suffering and pain without complaining,” he said.

Aside from her six adult children, Madam Janet Akua Aniwah also left behind over a dozen grandchildren. She was also predeceased by her husband of more than 45 years.

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