Akitoye Akibajo Akiwande Akiwumi, 86, passed away peacefully on February 21st, 2022 at his home in Tampa, Florida. He was born on April 24th, 1935 in Freetown, Sierra Leone to the late Akiwande and Louisa (Dove) Akiwumi. He was the third of nine children Olayiwola, Subuola (predeceased), Akitoye, Lakumbi (predeceased), Akibodun (predeceased), Olatunji, Akitunde, Akitayo, and Akilano. He is survived by his wife of 41 years Fenda (Blyden) Akiwumi, sons Akiyele and Akilade, and daughter Olubumi.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester, England in 1961 and worked for Sulzer AG in Winterthur, Switzerland from 1961 to 1965. On returning to Sierra Leone in 1965 he took up an appointment with the Sierra Leone Railways where he rose to the position of Chief Engineer. After the railways closed in 1974, he joined the Sierra Leone Petroleum Refining Company where he headed the engineering department. At the same time, he was actively involved in running the family business, The Alosak Bakery where he helped with repairing and maintaining the ovens and other equipment. He moved with his family to the United States in 1991 and became a substitute math teacher with the Fort Worth ISD, Texas, and later with the Hillsborough County School District in Florida.
Akitoye was a committed Freemason, a member of Wilberforce Lodge #6432EC and Wilberforce H.R.A. Chapter in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and continued to support the organization while in the United States. He loved to play cricket and squash as a young man and was a fan of soccer and rugby.
He is also survived by a large extended family of nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws – the Akiwumi/Akinwumni, Dove and Blyden families of Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria; many lifelong friends and former colleagues. He will be fondly remembered.
The family will receive friends from 12-1 pm with a funeral service beginning at 1 pm on Friday, March 4, 2022 at Blount and Curry, Terrace Oaks Chapel, Temple Terrace, followed by interment in Garden of Memories Cemetery, Tampa.
In lieu of flowers donations will go towards service projects of the Wilberforce Lodge in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
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