Grace Anti Ofori-Kyei

Grace Anti Ofori-Kyei, 76, passed away on February 23, 2021 in Glendale, Arizona, USA, after a short illness. Grace was a registered nurse who had a gift for serving others. For more than 30 years, Grace worked in hospitals around the world, starting in her native Ghana (West Africa), then several years in Canada where she settled with her husband and children before immigrating finally to the United States with her family in Phoenix, Arizona.

Grace was born in Akim Oda, Ghana on June 27, 1944 to Albert Yaw Anti and Comfort A. Anti. Sadly, she lost her biological mother at the age of seven, but was fortunate to be raised by a loving stepmother, Afua Apeaa, when her father later remarried. She spent most of her childhood in Tema, Ghana, where she attended Akodzo middle school.

In September 1962, Grace met John while she was still attending nursing school at Tema General Hospital. She was 18 and he was 21 when the two became friends. In May 1965, Grace earned her certification as a Qualified Registered Nurse (QRN) and the two were married the following month on June 1, 1965.

Their lives together led them overseas, first to Germany, then to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where Grace earned her Canadian certification as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in 1970. Later, with two small children, the family finally settled in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for several years until John’s work as an engineer with a new firm led them to relocate to the United States to their adopted home state of Arizona.

After 30 years in direct patient care, Grace sustained a back injury on the job. As a result, she went back to school in the US and earned an Associate’s of Applied Science degree in Medical Record Technology in 1990. She then worked in medical records as an inpatient coder for 17 years before retiring from Maricopa County Hospital in 2007.

The word most people use to describe Grace is "kind." She touched many lives through kindness. She delighted in cooking elaborate home meals for the couple’s many friends, young and old, and surprising them with thoughtful gifts and her famous homemade rum cake. She was warm, soft-spoken, generous, nurturing, funny and smart.

Though she left Ghana at a young age, she kept strong ties with her siblings and extended family back home and around the world. Her greatest joy in life was being a mother and grandmother. Grace loved her family more than anything and will be greatly missed.

She is survived by her husband of 56 years, John Ofori-Kyei, her two children, son, Mark (spouse: Priscilla), daughter Erika Amoako-Agyei (spouse: Nathaniel); and five grandchildren, Jasmine, Christina, Jason, Chelsea and Jaya.

Written by: Erika Amoako-Agyei