Enekan Akpan, 68, of Woodstock, Georgia passed away on August 28, 2019 after a long fight with type 2 diabetes. Enekan was born in Nigeria, in the town of Ikot Akpan Anwa, to Mary and Thompson Akpan Umoh on October 10, 1950. The son of a school teacher, Enekan loved reading and playing soccer as a child.

Enekan immigrated to the United States in 1972, after being awarded a Nigerian government scholarship to attend the University of Kansas. His wife, Nko, immigrated to the U.S. a few years later and two children soon followed. The Akpan family moved to the South, so Enekan could attend graduate school at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Enekan dreamed of using his education to improve infrastructure conditions in his hometown in Nigeria.

But periods of political instability in Nigeria, including a coup in 1983, would end his academic funding and scupper his plans. The terms of his scholarship made obtaining a U.S. work visa and green card extremely difficult. He spent the next three decades working a series of construction and other service jobs to support his family, which added a third child in the late 1990s.

Enekan is survived by his wife Nko, daughters Itoro and Hanna, son Nsikan and grandsons Jasem and Jacob, his father Thompson, his brothers Nseobot and Utip, and his sisters Eno and Unyime. Several aunts, uncles and cousins also survive.

The family has started a GoFundMe memorial fund to cover medical and funeral costs. Those wishing to send online condolences may do so at www.lakesidefuneralhomega.com . Flowers can be sent to Lakeside Funeral Home, 121 Claremore Drive, Woodstock, GA 30188; ph. (770) 293-2757.

A reception will be held after the interment at Tuscany Italian Restaurant, 250 Cinema View, Woodstock, GA 30189, Telephone: 678-453-0888.