Dr. Godwin Chukwunenye Duru

Dr. Godwin Chukwunenye Duru

, aged 72, was born on December 26

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, 1948 and passed away on December 28

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, 2020 after a brief illness. He was the second oldest in a family of 8 children. Godwin was born to Mr. James and Virginia Duru in Umunumo Mbano Imo State, Nigeria. Godwin spent his early years serving at St. Columba’s parish as a church secretary, and at one point gave strong consideration to becoming a priest. Over time and after receiving advice from family and friends, Godwin decided that he wanted to make an impact on others a different way, through education.

After graduating from high school, Godwin worked several odd jobs in an effort to save enough money to travel to the United States to further his studies. One of his positions was with Federal Ministry of Labor in Lagos, Nigeria. He was finally able to accomplish his goal in 1975, traveling to the United States at the age of 27. He obtained his first degree in Economics (BA) from the University of Dallas and a Master’s degree in Economics (MA) from Morgan State University in Baltimore. He went on complete his PhD in Agricultural Economics with an emphasis on International Development at The Ohio State University located in Columbus, Ohio. After nearly 28 years of teaching, he completed his career at Ohio Dominican University, also located in Columbus, as Professor Emeritus, retiring at the age of 67 back in 2016. He is survived by his wife Tonia Duru, son Obi Duru, two brothers, one sister, several nieces, nephews and many cousins.

Due to our current global health situation, a very small and private funeral service and burial will be held on Wednesday, January 6

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, 2021.