Iyasu Demoz Kebedom

Iyasu Demoz Kebedom was born on February 10, 1930, to his father, Demoz Kebedom Mirach and his mother Abrehet Woldemariam Hagos-Gura in Asmara, Eritrea. Iyasu was the eldest of his siblings, his late two brothers Haile and Abraham Demoz and his sister Nigisti Demoz who currently resides in Chicago.

After completing preschool where he learned reading and writing in “Geez”, Iyasu and his youngest brother Haile attended an Italian school named, “Scuola Vittorio Emmanuele Terzo” in Asmara until grade 4. After Italy lost the war in WWII, all Italian schools were closed. Therefore, when Iyasu was 12 years old, he enrolled in the Evangelical School in Asmara, where our Father Woldeab Woldemariam was the principal who instilled the love of education in him and all other students at the time. He remained in that school until he completed grade 6, the highest level of education that any of the students could attend at the time.

While attending school, Iyasu used to help in his father's tailoring shop in Piazza Italia, Asmara, where he acquired a craft of sewing clothes for adults and children. At seventeen years old, when his father opened a tailor shop in Mekelle, he moved there to manage the family business on his own. Due to his skills as a soccer player, he made quite a few friends and earned many fans, among which were many primary school teachers who used to come and hang out in his shop. With their persistent encouragement, he was inspired to further his education and career, so he applied and was hired as a teacher.

At the age of 19, he married Aster Hagos Niguse and they had two sons Petros and Solomon, and a daughter named Ararat. While he was a teacher in Mekelle and Maichew, he understood that he still needed to find a way to better the life of his family. He attended summer training sessions for teachers whenever the opportunity arose. His younger brothers, Haile and Abraham, who were studying in Addis Ababa encouraged him to further his education by sending him advanced study materials. With his determination to succeed and improve his and his family’s future, he prepared himself and passed the high school leaving matriculation without ever attending high school. He got admitted to the Addis Ababa University where he majored in Geography and graduated with “Great Distinction” honor. Iyasu won a scholarship to study abroad at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned his Master’s degree in Education in 1960.

After returning to Ethiopia, he first worked as a secondary school Principal in Addis Ababa and then in Mekelle for one year. From 1962, he served as the first Eritrean Principal of what is now Red Sea Secondary School in Asmara for three and a half years where they expanded their family with one more daughter, Ruth and a son, Ezana.

Starting from 1967, he served as the Provincial Education Officer of Keffa province in Jimma for four years. From 1971 onwards, he moved to Addis Ababa where he served in various senior roles including Director of Higher Education, Director of Adult Education, Administration Department Head and Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia. He also served as a high school teacher for brief stints in between. Breaking his career in education briefly, he was assigned as a District Governor of Gardula district in Gemugofa province during the Derge regime for two years. Among his many accomplishments, one noteworthy contribution is his role in leading the national illiteracy eradication initiative in Ethiopia for three years. By the end of his term in 1986, the national literacy rate increased to a significant 62.4%.

The success of the national program won Ethiopia a recognition and award by UNESCO.

Finally, after 42 years of impactful and distinguished career in education, Iyasu Demoz retired in 1992. After retirement, Iyasu spent his cherished time together with his beloved wife, the late Aster Hagos, until her passing in 1995 at the age of 57.

In 1997, he moved to the USA where he spent 26 years with his children in Atlanta for the first couple of years and then primarily living with his son, Petros and his family in Bakersfield, Fresno and finally in Oceanside with annual summer stays with his other children living in Maryland.

Iyasu Demoz Kebedom was a humble, deeply ethical man who loved and respected his family & friends, and lived an exemplary life of honesty, integrity, fairness to all irrespective of one’s background, and unwavering dedication and passion of teaching and imparting knowledge to all.

During his long career, he had meaningfully and positively impacted thousands of his former students who on many occasions express their gratitude to him or his family & friends by telling stories of how Iyasu’s guidance and mentorship helped and shaped their education and career trajectory.

Iyasu Demoz Kebedom passed away peacefully on December 18, 2023, in Oceanside, California, at the age of 93. He is survived by his 5 children, 8 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

John 5:24

“Most truly I say to you, whoever

Hears my word and believes the One

Who sent me has everlasting life,

And he does not come into judgment.

But has passed over from death to life”