Chief (Mrs.)Mary Theresa Uleyi Ugbe
Born 27 January 1946 · Calabar · Lagos
A Living Legacy · est. 1946
A life of faith, family, and quiet authority.
Retired educator. Community leader. Devout Catholic. Mother of five. For nearly eight decades, she has built a life and a family on discipline tempered with love, a thorough disciplinarian with a loving way, a perfectionist, a custodian of cultural values, and a faithful steward of the people God placed in her care.
Six chapters of a remarkable life
Her life, in chapters.
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Beginnings
Calabar, 1946
"I learned early that a family is a kind of country, and the older sister, its first ambassador."
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A Teacher's Calling
The chalk and the long bell
"A teacher is paid in something rarer than money, the small upright shoulders of a child who finally understands."
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John & The Vow
3 February 1963
"We married young. We meant every word. The years did not soften the vow, they explained it."
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Five Children, One Compass
Emmanuel · Patrick · Sheila · John Jr. · Laura
"I gave them rules so that one day they would not need them."
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Mother to Many
OWDA, NCWS, and the garage atelier
"A widow with a skill is a widow with a future. We were not in the business of charity. We were in the business of dignity."
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Faith & The Long View
Lady Knight of St. Mulumba
"I pray for Nigeria. I pray for the grandchildren. I pray that they go further than we did, and remember why."
Read chapter →Beginnings
Calabar, 1946
"I learned early that a family is a kind of country, and the older sister, its first ambassador."
Read chapter →A Teacher's Calling
The chalk and the long bell
"A teacher is paid in something rarer than money, the small upright shoulders of a child who finally understands."
Read chapter →John & The Vow
3 February 1963
"We married young. We meant every word. The years did not soften the vow, they explained it."
Read chapter →Five Children, One Compass
Emmanuel · Patrick · Sheila · John Jr. · Laura
"I gave them rules so that one day they would not need them."
Read chapter →Mother to Many
OWDA, NCWS, and the garage atelier
"A widow with a skill is a widow with a future. We were not in the business of charity. We were in the business of dignity."
Read chapter →Faith & The Long View
Lady Knight of St. Mulumba
"I pray for Nigeria. I pray for the grandchildren. I pray that they go further than we did, and remember why."
Read chapter →