Today I woke up to a tribute by a friend of mine. Felix Ochoro, on his Facebook timeline wrote a tribute that spoke volumes to me. Felix is one guy who has mentored me both professionally (Telecoms & Networks) and personally (Ministry in Church).

I celebrate the life and times of Walter Orondo Ochoro – the father to Felix. He is by all measure and standard a father who has poured himself. The family will miss him. The nations will miss him too.

I asked Felix if I could share his tribute on this platform. He humbly agreed. I am sure you will be touched by the time you will be done with the read. I have taken the liberty to dig some more – over and above what Felix shared.

Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o (Governor, Kisumu County) in his tribute described the late as, “Walter Orondo Ochoro was an academic who published widely, writing numerous research publications and consultancy reports. He was a consultant to the World Trade Organization, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Walter retired from the University of Nairobi at the end of 2016 and was later appointment as a lecturer at Maseno University School of Business and Economics, where he worked until his death.”

Here is the tribute from Felix:

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Dear Dad,

Over the past week people in Seme, Kisumu, across the country and the world have celebrated your life and you contributions to society. You were so many things to so many people. You touched so many lives and that’s because your live was not only built around a sense of duty and passion, but also around compassion, love and empathy. There’s seasons I wasn’t sure how many made up our family, because yours was an open door. I learnt from you early that one of the reasons to lend a helping hand was because you simply could. You valued people, no matter their lot in life, no matter their politics or anything that made them different than you.

Dad today I’m deeply greatful for the relationship we had through the seasons of our lives and just want to say thank you dad. My brothers and I have written a letter to you, to express our gratitude to you for a lifetime of lessons and memories that remain with us.

God blessed you with great capacity (who does two PhD programs) and you went on to live a full life. You taught us so many lessons, that we now transfer to the next generation in our own seasons of parenting. On the 26th of December 2019 I had the opportunity to visit with you and spent a lot of time talking about everything from your growing up and my own growing up years, to global economics and the challenges with your health and the Kenyan healthcare system and the state of artificial intelligence in healthcare. We talked about the achievements you were most proud of and your regrets, talked about life, faith and dying. We laughed and had deeply sad moments. Here’s some lessons I recall.

1. From you, I learnt to build grit. I remember when we moved to our home in Spring Valley, this was a two level house, with a chimney and large French windows. That day I recalled standing in the living room amazed at the picturesque view… what I did not know was that my brothers and I would learn to work hard slashing that 2 acre compound, raking leaves and tending the garden. It is there that I learned that I wasn’t as resilient as my brothers. You didn’t abandon me on that field when everyone was done with their section and I was a long ways off. You many times picked a slasher and kept me company. You taught me how to get it done quicker… in that season I learnt sharpening the tool was a big part of being successful.
   
2. From you I learnt to pour out my life into the lives of the generations behind us, it was simply amazing to see that this goes beyond academia into life as you opened up your home to the many that were on a life journey and stayed the course to see them established. I in my own turn no different, life without a multiplier is difficult to conceive.
   
3. You didn’t just give us a lens through which to look at the world but taught us how to craft our own lens through which we could process the world around us. You taught me that in your house we never discuss people, we discussed ideas… sometimes events but never people. You argued that this is how one developed a great mind. You taught me that if I wanted to scale any mountain, I would have to climb like the horses… that if I was tired, I should take one step, and then ask the question – do I have strength to take one more. If the answer was yes, then take another. If not, catch my breath and take one more. You taught me that all I ever needed to scale academics, career and life was to read one hour a day – not much more, not much less. I’ve done this all my life and have learnt a lot about the world we live in.
   
4. I remember you teaching us at an early age that all of life is just time – individual moments pieced together. You taught us that it did matter how we spent each individual moment… that defined how we engaged our friends, family even society around us…dad we have run into some amazing friends and invest in every moment.
   
5. Dad you taught me to live life without fear, that fear limits your thinking. That helped me navigate my first date, experience paragliding and wondering what happens if the parachute doesn’t open, to living abroad, changing careers even taking a stand around things that mattered, even when my views are different from the next guy. I think this was the most difficult lesson.

On the 26th as you lay in bed, you talked about courage even in the face of death, you were willing to take the 73 years God had given you and be thankful, you told me that I shouldn’t take you around the world seeking treatment if his illness was terminal.

That day I realized that maybe the end was near. I put on a brave face as you asked me to be willing to release you.

I haven’t had a more difficult conversation in all of my life. I put on a brave face as we talked. When I got into the car that day, I sat down and cried. Something in my heart told me that day would come. I had no idea it would be this soon. I had no idea it would hurt this much. Yesterday (10 Jan 2020) we lay you to rest, broken but proud. A lot of your friends were there [Raila, Prof. Nyongo, Dr. Nyikal, Dr. Nyabundi, Prof. Omondi, Prof. Rasowo, Dr. Nyongesa, Orege, Prof. Wanyande… that list goes on and on. They eulogized you as we lay you to rest.

You always told me a good name was an inheritance one that I could pass on to the next generation. You gave us a good name, I intend to maintain it and pass it onto my children’s children.

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As we do life as fathers, what is it we are intentional about that will be a tribute from our sons and daughters? Because LIFE has good days and one day, we will breathe our last.