Mr Francis Isaac Andoh Snr. alias Kofi Nyamekye was born on the 25th of November 1898 in Elmina, three weeks before the death of his father.  His parents were Chief Kweku Andoh and Madam Akosua Twibah, a trader.  His father was created Chief of Elmina in 1873 and later made Regent from 1884 to 1898.

He attended the St. Joseph Catholic School in Elmina and passed the seventh standard in 1915.  He was an ardent chorister during his school days and was a soloist.  During the celebration of the Constantine Jubilee, he sang the solo of the anthem, ‘The Heavens are telling the glory of the Lord’, much to the admiration of the congregation.

He taught in Elmina for three years and left to Sekondi where he was employed in February 1919 by F & A Swanzy, one of the firms which merged to form the United Africa Company (UAC) in 1929.  Within two years he was promoted to Chief Clerk and transferred to Bekwai in Ashanti in June 1926. He moved to Tarkwa in June 1938 on promotion.  He was then transferred to Kumasi in May 1941 where he became the first Ghanaian accountant in 1943.  He was transferred to Nsawam in March 1944 and promoted to Accounts Manager in 1945 and acted for a short period of time as Acting District Manager, a position no Ghanaian had held before at that station.

He visited the United Kingdom under the auspices of the Company in 1951 during the festival of Britain.  He retired on pension in 1956 after 37 years of loyal and devoted service.

He was a member of the Optimism Club in Sekondi in 1921.  A foundation member of the Catholic Mboa Kuw which became the Christian Mboa Kuw in Kumasi and installed as the first master of ceremonies.  He was also a member of the Honesty Society and elevated to the prominent position of Osabirima.  Until his death, he was a member of the Edina Traditional Council and succeeded his late father in the name of Nana Kweku Andoh V.

His slogan was “WHY WORRY” and he was popularly known as “Mr White” as he very often dressed in white attire.  His favourite hymns were “Days and moments quickly flying” and “Praise to the Holiest in the Height”.

He was survived by his only maternal brother, Reverend Father Paul E. Louis parish priest of Saltpond and eight children, including Rt. Rev. Dominic K. Andoh, first Ghanaian Catholic Bishop of Accra Diocese and Mr Francis Isaac Andoh Jr, retired first Ghanaian General Manager of UAC all now late.

Retrieved from funeral brochure Memenda, Fankwa 12, 1981