Joseph Kwesi Mensah

Born in Cape Coast, Ghana, and a naturalized citizen of the United States since 1996, Joseph Kwesi Mensah, known to his friends and family as Joseph, passed away peacefully at his home in Gahanna, Ohio on June 11, 2024. A very prayerful, loving, understanding, and compassionate disciple of Christ, Joseph succumbed to a life-threatening infection following surgery in early May. Joseph loved football (or soccer, as it’s known in American sports), cooking, politics, and ancestry pursuits. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Joseph was knowledgeable about and sensitive to the cultures, lives, and struggles of the people of countries around the world. A challenging debater on many issues, Joseph was a strong advocate for speaking out against injustices.

Although he endured many health-related setbacks as an adult, Joseph quietly persevered and never complained. He always had hope, strengthened by his Catholic faith, and his smile charmed his family, friends, and even the many health care professionals who cared for Joseph over the years. Joseph refused to make an enemy of anyone; instead his gentle and caring soul won their hearts. In short, to know Joseph was to love him, as he loved all those he knew.

Joseph is survived by his loving wife of 31 years, Judith Goodman, with whom he never cared to argue—instead he’d just sigh in exasperation, “Jooodie!”—and a stepson, Kurt Goodman and family, of Georgia. He also leaves behind his beloved brothers Steven, William, and John, all of Ghana, and Robert, of Italy, and his dear sister, Mary, of Ghana. He was predeceased by his parents, Paul and Sarah (Acquah) Mensah, and by his sister, Marian.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 11:00 AM in Mother of Sorrows Chapel at St. Joseph Cemetery, 6440 South High Street, Lockbourne, OH 43137, followed immediately by interment at Saint Joseph Cemetery.