Lady Marcellina Nkem Iloka returned to the Lord on March 10, 2023. She was 84 years old. She was a devoted Catholic throughout her life and she proclaimed her Faith loudly everywhere she went. She was widowed in 1988 but that did not prevent her from living her life to the fullest. Marcy, as she was fondly called by her close friends, was an educator and taught her four children that a good education and hard work was the key to unlocking any door and to obtaining anything you wanted in life. She also taught her children to love the Lord with all their hearts and her whole life was modeled on being an exemplary Christian, a good mother and a good friend to those who knew her. This is the greatest legacy she left to her family and friends.

Marcy was a courageous and resourceful woman. She attended Teacher's Training College and taught school in Nigeria. As a young mother, she had to fend for her four small children by herself during the Nigerian Civil War, because, months before the outbreak of the war, her husband left Nigeria to study abroad in the US on scholarship. When the war ended, she pursued her educational dreams by travelling to the US to join her husband and to continue her studies. She obtained a bachelor's degree in biology and a Master's Degree in Education, and continued to teach middle school and high school in Kansas City, Missouri, until she returned to Nigeria with her family in 1984.

She returned to teaching in Nigeria and she often said these were the best years of her life. She was a vice-principal, and later became principal of her school in Awka, Anambra State, where she lived and taught until she retired in 2000. After retirement, she travelled between the US and Nigeria for many years, visiting her children and grandchildren in Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and Washington. Marcy also enjoyed visiting her old friends in other states and would often travel by greyhound bus to take in the sights and monuments of the different cities she passed through.

In her later years, she settled in Missouri City, Texas, with her first daughter and became a devoted Parishioner at Holy Family Catholic Church, where she was fondly known as "Mama Franca." She enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, cooking, gardening, knitting, watching world news on TV, and doing Word-Find puzzles. She was a fantastic cook and food critic and loved to cook different traditional African dishes for her family. She made so many beautiful memories in her lifetime and she was a blessing to all who knew her. She has gone to a well-deserved rest with the Angels and Saints in Heaven.

We have lost a rare gem here on earth but Heaven has gained a new Angel. She is now a Guardian Angel for all of us who loved her. May her sweet gentle soul rest in peace in Paradise.

There will be a Funeral Mass Friday, April 21, 2023 at 12:00 noon at Holy Family Catholic Church, Missouri City, Texas. A reception will immediately follow the service in the parish hall.

Arrangments have been entrusted to Claire Brothers Funeral Home, 7901 Hillcroft Street, Houston, Texas 77081.