Life Reflection
Ayotunde Adebayo Okeowo was born to Samson and Lucian Abosede Okeowo in Lagos, Nigeria on March 30th, 1945. He is survived by his elder sister, Dr. Mayowa Okeowo Fagbemi, his wife, Florence Adebukola Okeowo, their four children: Temilayo Ogona, and Eniola, Abimbola, and Toluwalope Okeowo, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews and a son-in law. Ayo is preceded in death by his brother, Adeyemi Gasper Okeowo. A lifelong mischievous, adventurous and fun-loving spirit, Ayo was often the originator of family jokes, and pranks amongst his friends as a young boy (especially with his best friends of 50+ years, Dr. Ishola Adamson and Mr. Yinka Odukoya) and up until his untimely passing. Ayo attended Methodist Boys High School and graduated in 1963. In line with his adventurous spirit, Ayo chose to move to Russia in pursuit of the furtherance of his education. His time in Russia also resembled his never-ending quest for knowledge. He lived in Russia for a year before he started school to learn the Russian language. After completing his first degree, he graduated with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Leningrad Electrical Engineering Institute (currently known as Saint Petersburg State University) in 1973. At the time of his passing, Ayo was still fluent in Russian and took the opportunity to speak it to every person who passed by and even remotely appeared to be Russian. Upon his return to Nigeria, Ayo met Florence/Buki at a party thrown by Mr. Odukoya. They married, and Ayo was a loving and providing husband and father. Ayo and Florence moved to various countries in hopes of pursuing their careers. They were also in search of a place to raise and provide their future children with the best possible learning and cultural opportunities. Ayo frequently took Florence on domestic and international get-away trips; the couple recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with a trip to New Orleans, LA; and the entire family celebrated his 70th birthday, also recently, in the Hamptons. Ayo and Florence left Lagos for Ayo to begin a second Master’s degree at the University of Waterloo in Canada. They then moved to New York, NY, where he completed his Master’s degree in Computer Science at New York University and later began PhD studies. Upon his graduation from NYU in 1978 as ABD, the family moved to Montclair, NJ, where they have resided for the past 31 years. Ayo practiced as an independent software consultant for over 30 years. His clients included Equitable Bank, Citibank, AT&T, NYNEX, NYSE, Salomon Brothers, Dow Jones, Chase, ADP, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, and TDWaterhouse. On September 11, 2001, Ayo had just come out of the World Trade Center when he saw the terrorist plane hit the building. This shocking experience was a moment of clarity about Ayo’s life priorities. He decided to retire from consulting and began a profession in real estate property management. He owned and managed several buildings in New Jersey and New York, which he maintained until his passing.