Yeshua, Yeshua, Yeshua sums up the life of Dr. (Mrs.) Olanike-Ola Orie. She was a committed daughter and servant of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Yeshua) for more than three decades. Equipped with the riches of God’s grace she carried out the ministry of intercessory prayer, prophecy, evangelism and discipleship – encouraging and persuading people to respond to the riches of Christ’s unconditional love and grace. She poured out her God-given life and resources spreading the life-giving message of the Lord Jesus Christ, including but not limited to caring for the poor here and in Africa. Her authentic, unwavering faith in the Lord Jesus lives on as a beacon of light, inspiration and motivation for others to trust Christ as Lord and Savior, and have the blessed hope and assurance of the resurrection. John 11:25.
Dr. Orie was a beloved wife, mother, sister and friend who enriched the lives of all those around her with her love, joy, kindness and compassion. She inspired many through her hard work, commitment and dedication to her family, her academic work, and her Christian faith. From mentoring students to leading prayer groups to hosting Thanksgiving dinners, and alleviating poverty and human sufferings, Dr. Orie lived out her faith by sharing the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. She would rather be identified as a daughter of Yeshua (the Christ) than as a professor or other worldly titles or accolades.
Dr. Orie was born in Modakeke, Nigeria in 1965. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Ife and University of Ilorin in Nigeria. She served as a lecturer at the University of Lagos before moving to the University of London to complete a second master’s degree and then to Vancouver to earn her doctorate degree at the University of British Colombia (1995). After serving as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Washington for the 1995-96 academic year, Dr. Orie joined the faculty at Tulane University in the summer of 1996, a position she held for 25 years during which she attained the status of full professor and distinguished internationally recognized authority in her field of academic specialization.
Dr. Orie was a foremost research investigator in the field of West African linguistics – the science of language: phonology, morphology, language acquisition, language loss, and gestures. She was prolific, widely published, and cited in academic literature. She earned international recognition as an authority in her field of specialization for her groundbreaking findings documented in her numerous published books and articles.
Some of her work was supported by grants from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Endowment for Humanities.
Dr. Orie served as the Director of Linguistics at Tulane for seven years beginning in 2013, fostering a period of growth in the program including a new master’s degree program in computational linguistics in collaboration with Tulane’s Dept of Computer Science; new course offerings in American Sign Language; and partnering with MIT to increase research publishing opportunities for her graduate students. She mentored and directed the work of several doctoral students who are now professionals and professors in their fields of academic enterprise. Her work earned her several teaching, mentoring and service awards, most recently the Dean’s Faculty Service Award in the School of Liberal Arts in 2017. One of Dr. Orie’s memorable academic service was hosting the 43rd Annual Conference in African Linguistics (ACAL 43) on Language Interfaces at Tulane University in March 2012, editing and publishing the proceedings.
Dr. Orie was on the Editorial Board of some peer reviewed academic journals including The Linguistic Review. She was also a life member of the Linguistics Society of America among other professional associations
Dr. Orie kept her Yoruba culture and upbringing dear to her by enthusiastically speaking and teaching her native language, wearing traditional attire, listening to Christ-focused celebratory cultural music and cooking traditional meals. Her bright, lively and joyful aura was loved by many and she used her gifts of mentoring, teaching, and service to lead many to Christ. Her husband and children would always want to be home because Dr. Orie created a godly - loving, welcoming and warm home.
Dr. Orie is survived by her husband, Attorney and clinical faculty at Tulane, Dr. Kenneth K. Orie; Jeremy Chinwe Orie (son) – a Biomedical Engineer, and Joshua Dayo Orie (son) – a mathematics student at Tulane. She is also survived by her siblings – Mrs. Olufunke Ojikutu, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Adeoba, Mrs. Olufunmilola Akanbi; Chief Kayode Ola, Mrs. Ajibike Ogunbadejo; Mr. Akintola Ola; and numerous half brothers and sisters, aunties, uncles and cousins.
To the glory of God, Dr. Orie is now in the eternal care of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Yeshua).
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