By Cornel Osigwe
Tears flowed freely on Saturday as Nnewi’s prominent industrialist and philanthropist, Chief Sir Louis Izuchukwu Onwugbenu (popularly known as Louis Carter), laid to rest his beloved last-born son, Louis Chudi Onwugbenu, affectionately called Chuboy or Bobo.
The funeral Mass, held at St. Louis Catholic Church, Uruagu, Nnewi, the very church Chief Onwugbenu single-handedly built and donated to the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi drew a large gathering of family, friends, clergy, traditional rulers, and the cream of Anambra’s business and political elite. The atmosphere was heavy with grief as the Onwugbenu family, described in their tributes as incomplete without “Bobo,” bid farewell to a young man whose warm smile, humour, and zest for life had endeared him to many.
Louis Chudi Onwugbenu was born on 15 April 1993 in London, England. He grew up in Nigeria as the baby of the house — the last of eight children who completed a family of ten — before moving to the United States in 2005 for high school. After graduating from The Catholic University of America, he settled in Pittsburgh, where he built a real estate business. He returned to Nigeria earlier this year. Family members remembered him as a generous-hearted, fearless young man who loved fiercely, especially his partner Katie and their daughter Camrie, and who never failed to light up a room with his jokes, dancing, and famously out-of-tune singing. A lifelong Arsenal fan, he was also described as the family’s entertainer and a devoted uncle who treated his many nieces and nephews more like siblings.
The burial followed a Vigil Mass and wake-keeping on Friday, 6 November, at the family compound, 1 Onwugbenu Street, Ndiojukwu, Uruagu, Nnewi. After Saturday’s Mass, interment and a reception took place at the family compound. A Thanksgiving Mass is scheduled for Sunday, 8 November, also at St. Louis Catholic Church.
Prominent personalities in attendance included Chief Cletus Ibeto CON, Chief Dr Innocent Chukwuma CON, Senator Ikechukwu Obiora, Chief PEN Nwosu, Nollywood actress Genevieve Nnaji, Prof Joseph Ugboaja, the Obi of Uruagu Nnewi Obi Afam Obi, Chief Mbamba Iloka, Bar Donatus Okeke among other captains of industry, political leaders, and traditional rulers from across Anambra and beyond.
Chief Louis Carter Onwugbenu, a Papal Knight of St. Gregory the Great (KSG) and holder of the traditional title Okpataozuora Nnewi, is widely respected for his contributions to commerce, education, and the Church. Through the Louis Carter Group and the Louis Carter Foundation, he has supported scholarships, built schools, and funded major church projects, including the St. Louis Catholic Church complex in Uruagu.
In their moving tribute, the family said they cannot imagine life without Bobo and that his love and spirit will always remain part of them. “Our dear Louis, you are deeply loved, forever missed, and always in our hearts,” the write-up concluded.
The burial has been described by those present as a fitting, if sorrowful, send-off for a young man who lived fully and touched many lives in his 33 years.
Culled from AnaedoTV
