Magdalene Veronica Mbewa Oloowere

A Life Remembered: Magdalene Oloowere

September 9, 1949 – December 20, 2025

Our mother, Mrs. Magdalene Oloowere, was a woman of deep love for her family and community, and of immense faith in God. She was born on September 9, 1949, at a time when Kenya itself was still finding its footing.

She grew up in South Nyanza, the daughter of Romanus Awino Osiyo and Christina Odeny, in a large, closely connected family where aunties, uncles, cousins, and neighbors all played a role in shaping who she became. From early on, she learned responsibility, discipline, and the importance of showing up for others, lessons she carried quietly throughout her life.

Growing up in a Catholic home, Mrs. Oloowere was baptized and received the sacrament of confirmation early in her life and stayed strong in her faith. She loved reciting the rosary, bringing them everywhere she went, and always giving them as gifts to friends and family.

She began school in 1956 at Omiro Primary School and later attended Asumbi Girls Boarding School, completing Standards 6 through 8. Teachers noticed early that she was academically gifted, particularly strong in mathematics. As a result, something uncommon happened. Instead of following the usual path, Mrs. Oloowere skipped secondary school and went straight from primary school into nursing college.

In 1964, at just 15 years old and shortly after Kenya gained independence, she joined Kaplong Nursing School in Kaplong, located in present-day Bomet County along the Kisii–Kericho corridor. She later shared with her children that she was very young at the time and that the sight of blood frightened her and often brought her to tears. The nuns who taught at the school noticed and took her under their care. They would walk with her through the gardens, pick flowers for patients, and ease her into lighter duties such as making beds and delivering medication, until fear slowly gave way to confidence. What began as hesitation became commitment, and eventually, a lifelong calling.

There are no formal graduation records from that time. As her youngest brother, Cosmas Onyango, often said, graduations simply did not exist back then. Based on available timelines, we estimate that she completed nursing school at age 18 in 1967 and retired at age 55 in 2004, for a nursing career spanning approximately 37 years.

It was at Kaplong Hospital in 1971, during an otherwise ordinary day, that her life took an unexpected turn. A young veterinary officer, Gordon Oloowere, accompanied his father, Nathan Were, to the hospital. Magdalene was assigned as Nathan's nurse. Nathan appreciated her care so much that he insisted she continue attending to him and eventually introduced her to his son. One conversation led to another, and something meaningful began.

They were married in 1972 at Kisumu Kibuye Catholic Church, beginning a partnership that would anchor her life for decades and bless them with six children. From Kaplong, Magdalene continued her nursing career in Keroka, then Kericho, and eventually Nakuru PGH, where she spent the longest and most defining chapter of her professional life.

In Nakuru, she specialized in ophthalmology and pulmonary nursing. These were technical fields, but those who encountered her remember something else more clearly: how she treated people. That became especially evident when HIV/AIDS swept across Kenya. Fear was widespread, and stigma was heavy. Magdalene did not look away. She worked in the HIV/AIDS clinic at a time when few were willing to do so. She cared for patients others refused to touch, listened when people needed to be heard, counseled the HIV positive to believe they can have a long life with treatment, and treated everyone with dignity. Word spread quietly, not through praise or recognition, but through patients themselves. She became known as a nurse who would not turn you away.

This same spirit extended beyond her profession. Those who knew her remember her warmth and quiet confidence. She greeted people with a smile, offered guidance when it mattered, and had a way of making others feel seen. Many came to regard her as a mother figure, not only to her own children but to anyone who needed reassurance or advice.

She retired in 2004 after decades of service. Three years later, in 2007, her life changed again when her husband, Gordon Oloowere, passed away in Fresno, California. Widowed, she carried on with composure and resolve, holding her family together while continuing to serve others in new ways.

Retirement did not mean withdrawal. In Fresno, she became deeply involved at St. Paul Newman Catholic Center, serving as a Eucharistic minister and participating actively in women’s church groups. She built friendships easily, moving between Kenyan and American communities, always present and consistently engaged. Her faith was not something she often spoke about. People saw it in how she lived through service, kindness, and consistent concern for others.

Her heart remained closely tied to Kenya. With the help of American friends Marvåin and Mary-Ellen Friesen, she founded Okilla Nursery Orphanage, a practical and deeply needed effort that today serves more than 30 children by providing early childhood education. She was also active in St. Monica’s Women's Group, a congregation of widows, a founding member of the Legion of Mary in Usenge Catholic Parish, and a patron of the Gordon Oloowere Foundation, established in memory of her husband to provide scholarships to underprivileged high school students. To date, the foundation has benefited more than 100 young people.

Above all, Magdalene was a mother. She raised six children, Christine, Augustinoh, Maurice, Samuel, John Paul, and Joseph, with a strong belief in education, discipline, and independence. Her children studied in Kenya and the United States. She was also a grandmother to seven grandchildren, Ceasar, Effie, Jervis, Nicole, Tamara, Zuri, and Gordon, whom she loved in her own attentive and practical way.

She was also a mother-in-law to George, Mary, Jeniffer, Jane, and Brandi.

She remained closely connected to her siblings, Siprina Aluoch, Selphina Aoko, and Cosmas Onyango, and carried the memory of her late sister, Selina Aluga, with her. Family mattered deeply to her, and she worked to keep those bonds intact across time and distance.

Mrs. Oloowere passed away on December 20, 2025, after suffering a stroke while visiting her children in California. Her death was sudden. Her life was not.

She lived deliberately. She chose service early and never really stopped. She moved through the world without noise or spectacle, doing the work before her, caring for patients, guiding her family, and strengthening communities.

Mom, thank you for the love you gave us. You taught us how to live and how to love God. May God welcome you in heaven and reunite you with Dad, Mama Sheila, and all our departed friends and relatives.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Paul Catholic Newman Center, located at 1572 E. Barstow Ave., Fresno, California, 93710. The service is scheduled for December 30, 2025, at 10:00 am.