Olivia Abui Ampiah-Bonney died at the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA on Tuesday, April 12, after putting up a long and courageous fight.  She was born in Takoradi, Ghana, to Edward Kwaku Ahelegbe and Anna Ameyo Ahelegbe.  She was predeceased by her father and older siblings Sarah and Edwin. She is survived by her mother Anna, her husband of 25 years, Richmond, her five children; Kodwo, Joojo, Noah, Adwoa, Ekua, and many nieces and nephews.

Olivia graduated from Holy Child School in 1988, and earned her BSc degree in Chemistry from the Kwame Nkrumah University in 1992 and it was there that she met her future husband, classmate Richmond. She went on to receive a Masters Degree in Wood Technology & Management (1998), becoming the first woman to earn that degree in Ghana. She was appointed Lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department at Takoradi Polytechnic.  Moving to the US, she received a Bachelors and then a Masters degree in Nursing from UMass Amherst and was working on her PhD. 

Olivia worked for many years as a drug rehabilitation nurse in Springfield, as a tutor at the Westover Job Corps, Chicopee, and as an instructor at the School of Nursing, UMass Amherst.   She loved mentoring, especially young ladies and young men.

Visitation will be Saturday from 10 – 11 AM at the Wesley United Methodist Church, Hadley. A celebration of life will be held at 10:00 am, with burial following in South Cemetery, Belchertown. Memorial guestbook at www.douglassfuneral.com