Patricia Sillah

Today the Sierra Leonean community in Columbus, Ohio mourns, with deep sadness, the loss of a friend, a sister, a mother, grandmother, a source of inspiration to this community, our dear one, Patricia Sillah (Aunty Pat). Her loss cannot be more deeply felt particularly at a time when we were poised to celebrate the end of the Covid-19 restrictions.
She departed her loving family on May 16, 2021 in Columbus, Ohio. She is survived by her three children including two girls Fatu and Jeneba, a son Ali, seven grandchildren, five siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends both in the United States and abroad.

Patricia was born on July 21, 1955 to Alieu Badara Bangura and Fatu Bangura in Port Loko, a town in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Patricia grew up as a very intelligent child and valued her education. At a very young age, she knew she was distinct and would leave a strong and lasting legacy. She attended Roman Catholic Primary School, Saint Joseph Secondary School in Moyamba, then finished her secondary school education at Schlenker Secondary School in Port Loko. She continued to pursue her college education at Port Loko Teachers College and obtained her teaching certificate at Milton Margai Teachers College in Goderich, Freetown.

Aunty Pat started her career as an elementary school teacher and later became a high school teacher in Sierra Leone. She taught at various schools including Saint Mary's Primary, Saint Anthony's primary, and Ansarul Muslim Secondary school. She was the first of her family to come to the United States and paved the way for the rest of her family. She started her journey in Alexandria, Virginia in 1991 and later moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1995. She received her Nursing and Business Degree at Hocking School of Nursing in Ohio. She became a nurse upon graduation from college and received multiple achievement awards in her nursing career. She was also an entrepreneur and operated her own small business. She was the proud owner of P & J Beauty Supply & Grocery (previously known as Sierra Travel/Beauty Supply & Grocery).
While attending college in the US, she not only took care of her three children, Fatu, Ali, and Jeneba, she also took care of her mother and the rest of her family in Sierra Leone. She maintained active relationships in the Sierra Leone community as well as with other African communities in the Columbus area. She was always around mingling, offering words of advice, and helping others any way she could. She was a member of the Sierra Leonean Club of Columbus and supported the activities of various community and religious organizations within the Sierra Leonean Community in Central Ohio. She was a proud member of her hometown organization the Maforki Port Loko Descendants organization. As an entrepreneur and philanthropist, she became a stronghold amongst the African immigrant community in Columbus. From the Sierra Leonean community to the Liberian, Guinean, Somalian, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Gambian, and many more. She received an Award for "Personality of the Year" given by the Sierra Leonean Club of Columbus Ohio.

She was revered as a mother to many and will be deeply missed. We will miss her contagious laugh, warm hugs, frequent calls to check on her children in the community, summer times spent with her grandchildren and many more. The poem by JK Rollin says, "Love as powerful as your mother's for you, leaves its own mark. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever." Losing a mother is one of the deepest sorrows a heart can know. But her kindness, her resilience, and her wisdom will live on like a legacy of love that will always be with us. May our mother, aunty, sister, friend, and grandmother's soul rest in peace forever.