This archive report was first published on 23 May 2020.
Dr. Thomas Nyambane, a 69-year-old retired professor and community leader, died from Covid-19 in Minnesota, US, on May 17, 2020.
According to an obituary published by Minnesota's Mshale newspaper, Dr. Nyambane was a leader of the Kenyan community in Minnesota and had been actively involved in various charitable efforts to support Kenyans in the state and in Kenya.
His eldest son, Cyprian Kambuni, remembered his father as a man with a 'very generous heart' who 'did not matter who or where you came from and whether you were a kid or a grownup.'
Dr. Nyambane had a long history of community service, including raising money for books for Africa through the Minnesota Kenya International Development Association.
He had moved to the US in the 1980s and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas, as well as two Masters' degrees and a doctorate in philosophy from universities in Minnesota.
Dr. Nyambane taught for many years at Hennepin Technical College in a suburb of Minneapolis, the largest city in Minnesota.
His family is trying to respect his wish to be buried in his homeland, but the closing of Kenya's airspace due to the pandemic is complicating that quest.
