Philip Chike Nchekwube

Our beloved Chike passed away peacefully in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. A native of Aguleri in Anambra State, Nigeria, Chike was born in Lagos to Georgina Nchekwube and the late Matthias Nchekwube. He returned to Aguleri at the onset of the Nigerian civil war and completed his secondary school studies at All Hallows Seminary in Onitsha. Chike then moved to the US in 1979 and subsequently obtained his undergraduate degree in accounting and an MBA from Santa Clara University in California where he graduated with distinction as the class valedictorian. He also held a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley and worked at various times as an accountant at Xerox, an attorney at the global law firm of Jones Day in Washington DC, a business owner of three GNC stores in northern California, a deputy prosecutor in Lake County Indiana and a professor of Business Law and Accounting at St. Francis University in Fort Wayne Indiana. Left to mourn Chike are his wife, Miranda Nchekwube; sons: Ikenna and Nnamdi Nchekwube; mother; brothers: Emeka and Chiedu Nchekwube; sisters: Angelina Ivenso, Uju Nchekwube, Victoria Nchekwube; in-laws, along with countless other friends and family members who were blessed to have known him. Chike had a good wit and enjoyed long conversations with friends and kin, championing the aspirations of the Aguleri people in the diaspora, and being with his family. He touched the lives of many people with his smile and generosity, and maintained his trademark sense of wit and stubborn integrity all the way to the end. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 10:00 AM directly at Ss. Peter and Paul Church, 5885 Harrison St., Merrillville, IN, with Rev. Roy Beeching officiating. Burial to follow at Ss. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Merrillville. Friends may visit with the family at Geisen Funeral Home, 7905 Broadway, Merrillville, IN on Friday, March 12, 2010 from 2:00 to 8:00 PM and on Saturday morning directly at the church from 9:00 AM until the time of service at 10:00 AM. A wake service will be held on Friday, March 12th from 7:00 PM to 1:00AM at Madden Hall, Ss. Peter and Paul Church. To share a memory or send a condolence to the family, please visit the guestbook section at www.GeisenFuneralHome.com or http://chikenchekwube.personalizedmemorial.com/index.php. For more information call 219-769-3322.