Late Mrs Elizabeth Akpeni Etadaferua was an outstanding Matriarch who struggled through thin and thick to bring up her thirteen children though survived by ten .
She was indeed a woman anyone would desire to have as mother. A true family woman whose industry was exemplary.
She was a great inspiration to her children all of whom are doing great in business and career.
She was a great merchant dealing in fabrics and shore foods which she traded round the cities within the south-south region of the country.
Though a native of Jesse in Ethiope West Local Government Area of the present day, Delta State, Elizabeth, popularly called sister by relations and customers including her children transversed Sapele, Warri, Benin in present day Edo State, PortHarcourt in Rivers State, Calabar in CrossRiver State and Aba in Abia State .
Initially she traded only on clothing, (wrappers) in Sapele market and Jesse going round with her bicycle to villages selling her wrappers and coral beads and other ornaments in Jesse village to raise her children.
As time went by sister Elizabeth changed from sell of wrappers to shore foods which she supplied in large quantities to retailers in major cities in south-south and Aba in Abia State. She continued in that mobile trading till age began to catch up with her before she stopped traveling and stationed in Sapele at a shop to sell her merchandise.
One significant attribute of late sister Elizabeth was her unwavering commitment to the worship of her creator as she never allowed her business interests to conflicft with her church activities. Her devotion to the Ebenezer Baptist Church, her family place of worship was unimaginable. Account had it that until her death at the age of 84 she never missed both mid-week and Sunday services for once.
Even though she could neither read nor write, sister Elizabeth would always gather the church bulletins, including the Bible and asked any of the available child to read and explain the contents to her. She was an active member of the women missionary society which greatly influenced her life. She was a humanist whose generosity and giving became reference points in the church.
One of the daughters who is based in New York, United States of America Mrs Mercy Dundun Mafuru in her tribute has these to say of her late mother, “Nothing in this world can compare to the love and light you brought into my life.
Pure and genuine, selfless, caring, forgiving, wise, gentle and tough.
I am who I am today because of you. Your enduring love has instilled in me the confidence to forge ahead even during trying times. I will never forget that.
You have done so much for me, I cannot count it all. I love and cherish you deeply mother. I miss you dearly!
To one of her sons, Ovie Etadaferua, late Mrs Elizabeth was truly a definition of a loving mother. He described his mother as a woman with a clean heart towards anyone who came across her during her life time. All her children affirmed that her legacy of humanism will remain in their hearts as they bided her farewell back to her creator. She was interned on the 15th November, 2024 in her home town Jesse.
