Mrs. Ollie Matrice Eubany wife of the late Barrister Cosmos Eubany passed away peacefully on May 31st 2023 at the age of 87. She was a beloved wife, mother, sister and grandmother to those who survive her including her five children Dr. Lorraine Adamma Eubany, Bevelyn Chinyere Eubany, Margaret Obiaraeri Adenihun, Dr. Jacqueline Akumiri Eubany and Cosmos Emecheta Eubany, Esq.

We celebrate Ollie's life of courage, adventure, and accomplishment. She was born on Nov 16, 1935 in White Plains, New York to Elte and Pauline Faulkner during the Great Depression and grew up in Harlem New York with her 3 siblings.

Upon graduation from high school Ollie began her greatest adventure. Determined to escape the poverty and oppression of 1950's New York, she shocked everyone when she moved to California and attended night school at the University of San Francisco. It was at this Catholic University where she met her soulmate Mr. Cosmos Eubany, an exchange student from Nigeria whose exceptional brilliance and ambition captivated her. She became a practicing Catholic and the two were later married. The couple first moved to England where Cosmos completed his Law Degree while Ollie became the landlady of the rental property they had worked hard to acquire to support Cosmos' education. As an American living in the UK at the time, she was sought after for her opinion on American news. Upon completion of Cosmos' law education the couple moved to Nigeria where Cosmos began his law practice near his home village of Orlu.

She was warmly welcomed and adored by her husband's family for her true love of Nigeria, her adaptability to life there and her ability to remember the names and faces of her husband's large extended family and soon became a source of pride for the community.

Shortly after the birth of their first child, ethnic tensions in Nigeria escalated and the violent Nigerian Civil war (Biafran war) erupted. Ollie stayed by her husband's side during the initial years of the War but was later forced to flee in 1969 with her infant daughter. Her grueling and terrifying escape from the war torn countryside was on the last Red Cross flight from the war zone. She sought refuge in New York where she stayed before reuniting with her husband in Nigeria in 1971. Her 30 day return journey to Nigeria was on a small cargo ship that had no precise arrival date in Nigeria. The couple communicated through hand written letters delivered by standard post and ultimately, Cosmos had to go to the pier daily to await the arrival of his family. Once reunited, they settled into family life this time in the capital City of Lagos. Ollie, a devoted wife and mother helped support their growing family by working as a secretary for the Ford Foundation and Shell Oil company.

By 1987, following the economic collapse in Nigeria the entire family, now with 5 children resettled in Los Angeles, California. Shortly thereafter, Cosmos met his tragic and untimely death leaving Ollie to raise their children as a single mother. She worked very hard putting them all through college and producing an attorney, 2 doctors, a nurse and a business graduate.

She was a voracious reader and enjoyed traveling, playing the piano and writing and even completed a memoir of her experiences during the Biafran War. She maintained her connection to Nigeria by attending the many social events of the Nigerian community and continued to stay abreast of the latest Nigerian news and political situation. She loved spending time with her family and visiting casinos.

Ollie was an active member of Quinn A.M.E. Church in Moreno Valley where she sang in the choir and was named a Drum Major for Christ in 2019. She was a lay health advisor for the Witness Project, a breast cancer education project sponsored by her church. Following the COVID-19 lockdown, she spent most of her time at her eldest daughter's home in Scripps Ranch where she regularly attended St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church.

Her strong character was accompanied by a boisterous laugh, and good humor that left an impression on everyone who was privileged to know her. She was a kind, loving and generous woman and was the steady, unshakeable strength of her family. Besides her five accomplished children, she is survived by her sister Anna Christian and her grandchildren, Maya, Hailey and Deji Adenihun, Gabriel Eubany, Adeolu, Sabrina, Sophia, Isabella, Emily, Katie and Angie. All of them loved Grandma dearly.

She will be remembered for her love, courage and sense of humor and she truly belongs to the 'Greatest Generation' on two continents.

She will be greatly missed.

We love you mom.