1 Comment
Mrs. JESSICA OLAYINKA DALLEY, 97, who died in Lagos on Sunday, March 18th, 2012, has been laid to rest. A service of songs was held at the Lagos Hilton Hotel, Victoria Garden City, off Lekki Expresssway, on Tuesday, April 10th, 2012. Funeral service took place, the next day, at Methodist Church of the Trinity, Tinubu Square, Lagos. Interment was at The Vaults And Guardens, Ikoyi. Guests were entertained at KFA events place, Lekki peninsula.
Here are some of the faces at the ceremonies.
Photographs by Muyiwa IK-Dairo and Amaize Ojeikere.
——————————————————————————————————————————–
JESSICA OLAYINKA’S BIOGRAPHY
The late Mrs. Jessica Olayinka Dalley, nee Reffell, was born into a devout Christian family in Calabar, on Friday, October 26th,1914 (the year Lord Frederick Lugard amalgamated Southern and Northern Protectorates to form the country, Nigeria). Her parents, Mr. Samuel Metzger Reffell and Mrs. Jessica Laura Powers Reffell, were of Sierra Leonean, Yoruba and Canadian descent. She was the last of four children hence the loving nickname, Baby, which she retained till she passed on.
Her father, Samuel and his brother, Floyd, were young well-educated Sierra Leoneans who were recruited by the colonial government to work in the administration in Nigeria and the Gold Coast (now Ghana), respectively.
Jessica’s father was a renowned Administrator with the now defunct Posts and Telegraph Department (PWD). Due to the nature of his work, young Jessica had her early education at Duke Town Primary School, Calabar, St. Cyprian’s School and later Enitona High School, both in Port Harcourt (Enitona High School was founded by her father’s kinsman, The Rev. Potts-Johnson).
Jesicca distinguished herself in academics, winning prizes for best student in English and Handwriting. Her eldest siblings, Ayodele and Samuel Jnr. were sent to the United Kingdom and United States of America respectively for further studies.
Jessica and her immediate elder brother, Olu, stayed back in Nigeria to assist their mother who was then a merchant. Consequently, Jesicca had the opportunity to imbibe the true Sierra Leonean (Krio) way of life and tradition. She built a career in dress making and catering. Her clientele included Europeans, Syrians and government officials. She was very industrious and versatile and continued in this line of business until she started raising a family. She was a dedicated housewife and mother who was blessed with four children, Tokunbo (deceased), Olaosebikan, Olumide and Moronke.
She moved with her husband, Mr. O.O. Dalley, from Lagos to Ibadan where they resided until his death in August, 1995. Her greatest confidant was her sister, Ayodele whose towering figure commanded the respect of all. She was also very close to her late brother, Mr. Ayo Reffell, her late niece, Olori Galbina Bright Oyekan, who was married to the late Oba of Lagos, H.R.M. Adeyinka Oyekan; her favourite nephew, Mr. Samuel Papo Allotey, her dear niece, Dr. Biola Reffell-Obada; her loving cousins, Mr. Floyd O’dwyer, late Dr. Collins Gardner, Snr. and Mr. Sunmi Smart-Cole.
Mrs. Dalley’s Christian pedigree was impeccable. The Methodist Church has been the family church for generations and she maintained the tradition till she passed on (she was an usher at the inauguration of Wesley Methodist Church in Port Harcourt). She was a very meticulous person, who against all odds, ensured that her ancestral home on Aggrey Road, in Port Harcourt, built by her late parents in 1931, remained in habitable condition for members of her family.
A peace loving and caring mother who entrenched harmony in the home, Mrs. Dalley, had a passion for reading and watching sundry television programmes.
