Biography

Introduction

Joseph Kofi Adjei, popularly known as 'Mr. Adjei' was born to the late Obaapanin Yaa Serwah of the Bretuo royal family of Twenedurase-Kwehu, and the late Opanin Yaw Dwirah of Obomeng-Kwahu on July 27th,1948 in Koforidua.

Education

Mr. Adjei began his primary and middle school education in 1954 at the AME Zion School in Koforidua. He continued to attend Accra Academy Secondary School from 1962 to 1969, where he obtained his Ordinary and Advanced Level Certificates. Following his secondary education, he studied at the prestigious University of Ghana from 1969 to 1972, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration with a major in accounting. He later acquired a Master of Science degree from Boston University, specializing in Banking & Financial Services Management.

Career

Mr. Adjei’s professional career started at Ayew Agyeman and Company, a private accounting and audit firm, in 1972. Fresh out of college, filled with enthusiasm and a knack for figures and audit scrutiny, he embarked upon what was to be a successful and gratifying accounting career.

In 1975, he joined the accounting division of the Cocoa Marketing Board, CMB, a Ghanaian government-controlled institution that fixes the buying price for cocoa in Ghana. At CMB, now COCOBOD, he rose to the position of Deputy Chief Internal Auditor for it’s nationwide operations.

After working for CMB for some time, Mr. Adjei explored private practice where his true passion lay. In his private practice, Mr. Adjei worked with the following accounting partnerships; Charles Ocansey and Co., Ayew Agyeman and Co., Egala Ocansey and Associates, E. T. Akonnor and Co., E. V. Asare and Co., and his exclusive practice, Link Consult Limited, over the period 1980 to 2002. His clients during his private practice years included Ghana Commercial Bank - UK, Koranko Farms, Jinlet Pharmaceuticals, Nana Kwesi Enterprise, Ashted Ghana Limited, Juapong Textiles, Nzema Manle Rural Bank, and YADCO Ghana Limited.

There is a wisecrack in Ghana suggesting that ‘every Kwahu man has a store,’ and Mr. Adjei was no exception. Over the years, he engaged in various micro-businesses. These included a photography prints business, a T-shirt printing business, a computer sales business, a cornmeal supply business, a bookstore, and a software sales business, to name a few. An admirable and consistent trait of Mr. Adjei in all these ventures was the strict book-keeping systems he put in place. His business acumen made it easy for him to determine if a business was worth nursing.

Religious Life

Mr. Adjei was a staunch Christian and showed a commitment to the work of God in the highest order. He worshipped at the Ghana Police Church in his adult days in Accra, Ghana. Over his years at the Ghana Police Church, he served as leader of the Anointed Fellowship, a subgroup in the church. He regularly met with the group’s members to support each other both spiritually and professionally. He was also one of the first to donate pews to the church and introduced the concept of sashes for the church ushers. He was periodically a member of the church harvest committee and in a leadership role in this committee helped the church to acquire a bus for the church.

In 2002, Mr. Adjei relocated to the United States from Ghana, primarily to seek medical treatment. His health challenges did not deter him from his love for and commitment to serving the Lord. He became a member of the local Church of Pentecost and served his fellow beings through the church. During his stewardship, he became an elder of the church, the leader of the music ministry, the local church auditor, and a member of the national church audit team.

Over the two decades Mr. Adjei lived in Washington State, he consistently sought opportunities to be of service to the different communities he encountered. Unsurprisingly, he became a member of the Ghana Association of Greater Seattle, GHASEA, and served as president of the association over the period 2012-2018. He was also connected to other national associations in Washington state, including the associations for the Senegalese, Gambian and Jamaican communities. He collaborated with these groups and supported their activities as needed.

Mr. Adjei’s commitment to charity work was exemplary. He helped random homeless people connect to his community networks for support, helped folks needing assistance with managing their finances, taxes, finding jobs, writing letters, starting businesses, creating brochures in support of events and businesses, and so much more.

Family life

Mr. Adjei loved his family and valued spending time with his wife and children. In his early years, he ensured all his children were educated and groomed them to be responsible citizens. When his grandchildren arrived, he focused most of his attention on them. He was quick to provide support for his grandchildren while their parents attended work and other activities. He was also a best friend, confidant, father, teacher, leader, and husband to his wife Helen to whom he was married for almost half a century.

Health

Mr. Adjei was a very active man in his days as a young man. He was a founding and active member of the El-Wak Keep Fit club in Accra, Ghana. He went for runs regularly, ate healthily, and stayed fit through the 70, 80s, and 90s. In 2002 he was diagnosed with renal failure. This development resulted in his migration to the United States where he could receive the appropriate treatment and care. On his arrival in the United States, he was immediately put on dialysis care and stayed on this intervention until 2012 when he underwent a kidney transplant. His wife, Helen Kofi Adjei, stayed at the forefront of his care and engaged relentlessly in ensuring it's provision for the two decades of his health challenges. In late August 2021, he was admitted to the hospital as he was struggling to eat and was consequently very weak. His trip to the hospital was to be his last out of his home. On October 1st, 2021, he took his last breath, peacefully at the Swedish Hospital Edmonds Campus, surrounded by his family.

He left behind a family that will always love him.