Rebecca Matinda
April 16, 1982 ~ November 8, 2017
Rebecca was born on April 16, 1982 in Olkesmet village, Simanjiro district Manyara region, in Tanzania, to Paulo Matinda and Elizabeth Ranga Koinesei. She passed away on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, 01:05am US central time after battling cancer for almost two months at the Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center, Broadway, Fargo, North Dakota.
Rebecca grew up in a large family of six brothers and three sisters although one of her sisters passed away at an early age; she was the third in the family, which tells why she was such a sociable person. She started her primary (elementary) education in her home village from 1992 to 1998. Later on she moved from home to a boarding secondary (middle and high) school at MaaSAE (Maasai Speakers for Advanced Education) Girls School in Monduli, Arusha, Tanzania, from 1999 to 2005. After excelling her high school national comprehensive exams, Rebecca was awarded a competitive scholarship opportunity to study at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, where she graduated in 2008 with a BA in Business Management and Communication. Her education passion took her to St Cloud State University where she earned a MA degree in Social Responsibility in 2011, and later to the University of North Dakota where she was completing her PhD degree dissertation in Educational Foundations Research. She married Peter Morris in Fargo, North Dakota, on August, 15th of 2011, and made their home in Moorhead, Minnesota. Before death, she was a Data Analyst and Interim Director of the Academic Bridge program at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Moorhead.
The beautiful Rebecca was a joyful friendly person filled with love for life in general and music in particular; she was a good singer and a strong dancer who never got tired of smiling and entertaining others. She enjoyed family life, dedicating unconditioned love for her husband and her children to the extent that she postponed her doctoral dissertation work so she can care for her family. She always extended her kindness and sincerity to other families, including being an ardent advocate for educating all kids, especially the underprivileged ones who grow up in environments where the value of education is not clearly known by the community.
She is survived by her husband, Peter, their two kids: daughter Abby (5 yrs) and son Andrew (18 months), and her eight siblings who are in Tanzania. Along with her immediate family, she leaves behind a ton of friends that include her research group members at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, her coworkers at the Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Moorhead, her schoolmates and friends from all over the world. She will be missed by many.
Rebecca will be laid to rest in the Last Supper Garden of the Sunset Cemetery, in Fargo North Dakota, on December 2, 2017. Contributions towards Rebecca’s memorial fund can be made through a Wells Fargo Account Number 19563446999 Routing number 091300010 payable to the order of either Oliver Mogga or Godfrey Tadeo.
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Rest in peace Dr Rebecca Matinda my homie girl,beatifuly in and outside mother and wife.A sister to many and an Auntie we love u
Rebecca, you always had a smile!! We will definitely miss you, RIP.
Although you left us too soon, you will remain in our hearts for ever. We will never forget your vibrant smiles, your serious pieces of advice, and your gentle care for all of us. Rebecca, we loved you, but God loved you most. May your soul rest in eternal peace.
It is difficult to believe you are gone Rebecca. Your beautiful smile will always be remembered.
For, “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.So,whether we live or die we belong to the Lord. Roman 14:8”
Rebecca, your presence has always brought joy to those around you. Your friendship will be truly missed. May the Almighty rest your soul in Everlasting Peace.
I love you Becca. And you left us too soon and unexpectedly. We are praying for peace to bring comfort, courage to face days ahead without you and loving memories of you to forever hold in our hearts. You’re already missed but won’t forget you. Until we meet again 💗
For Morris, Abby & Andrew thinking of you, wishing you hope in the midst of sorrow and comfort in the midst of pain.
Peter, Abby, Andrew, and all Rebecca’s family and friends—
We miss her infectious laughter, bright smile, funny stories, dedication, positive attitude, and so much more each day at M State.
Much love to all of you as you grieve and celebrate her wonderful spirit.
Best,
Michele
My condolences to the husband, children, family and friends. May our Good Lord comfort you all in this difficult time. This is but our temporal home, we are all just passing by. May we live like sojourners so we may rejoice in our eternal home in glory land.
I will miss you my lil sis! I had been a blessing knowing you. Tutaonana tena mpendwa wangu!
Time changes nothing… it doesn’t matter how long you left, you’re already missed Becca. It’s strange because we have been miles apart but the assurance that we will see each other was there, THERE’S still that assurance but we miss you so much and I know your husband and beautiful angels miss you more than anybody, to the three of them I say this, she is in a better place and she is that guardian angel always with you. Take heart and know that God Loves you so much no matter what happens. We Miss you beautiful Becca. Keep singing with the angels until we meet again beloved.
Rebecca, I will miss you Nganashe!! I still cannot believe you are gone so soon. I will miss your beautiful smile, I will miss your voice calling me Dada Upendo, I will miss your jokes especially the one about how short I am 😊, I will never forget the joke about Q on you feeding Abby, the lying about snake at MGLSS and so many more.It was a privilege to have known you! Oh how you loved to sing! I know you are rejoicing with the Lord and singing with the angels! May your wonderful memories stay with all of us forever. Kwaheri Becca, tutaonana Mbinguni.
To Morris, Abby and Andrew, my deepest condolences! You will always be in my thoughts and prayers! May God give you strength to carry on.
Rebecca the last time we met I gave you a hug and held abby. Who knew that would be the last time we would meet. I know you fought a battle for your family with cancer because you loved them dearly. God loves you more Rebecca. Till we meet again.
Gone too soon Becca, My warm condolences to Morris, Abby, Andrew and the all the Fargo family. R.I.P
My dear Sister Becca, your presence has always brought joy to those around you. We will miss you… May your soul rest in internal life…
A beautiful SMILE , meaningful HUG, genuine HOW ARE YOU is how I will remember a one of a kind woman I was blessed to have in my life. Prayers to her loving family
Rest in peace my lovely clasmate and friend, we will remember you forever.
Jirani kwaheri, umetuacha mapema sana. Ucheshi, upendo, matumaini tutavikosa saana! Upumzike kwa amani. Bwana ametoa, bwana amechukua, jina la bwana lihidimiwe!
Sorry to hear about your loss. Rebecca was such a nice person.
May her soul rest in peace
Life is not always fair. It is very sad to learn this unbelievable news that my friend, Rebecca Mitinda has passed away. She was just 35 years old with a daughter Abbey of 5 years and a son Andrew of 18 months.
I got to know her very well when we were both pursuing our degrees at St. Cloud State University. I still remember my first meeting with her, it was the orientation session on 14th August 2009 for new graduate students. Director Social Responsibility Program, Dr. Julie Andrzejewski had already told us through email that we both would be her graduate assistants at the program. We met each other warmly and started talking about our residential arrangements etc. Then we worked together for a whole year. We planned, organized, managed, and hosted the first annual “Global Social Responsibility Conference” at SCSU where we learned more about each other. This colleague and class-mate relationship changed into close friendship. She was a wonderful person; very lively, beautiful, loving, smart, hardworking, confident, dedicated, sincere and socially responsible. When Tabeel and Sachal would come to visit me from their school, she was always very friendly with them and we would have lots of fun together. Tabeel graduated from the high school in 2010 and went to Gonzaga University for the college. I was very worried about Sachal being alone at St. John’s Preparatory School as he was quite young. But Rebecca assured me that he will be fine and that he will learn to live alone and become confident.
When I came back to Pakistan, we were in communication with each other through Facebook. We shared all the sad and happy events of our lives. She was very concerned about the death of my brother Kamran Bhatti. She tried her best to console me from far away. We both were chatting often about our families, our work, and our activities. I am looking at our inbox conversation again and again. On 8th May, 2016 we were talking about Sachal’s graduation from the college and she teased me that my baby had passed college. She posted last time on Facebook on 19th October. Today, I received the friend request from Angie Wambua, another class mate at SCSU and learned about this horrible news of Rebecca’s demise from her page.
Rebecca was a very powerful Massai women from Tanzania. She was a true fighter for rights. She escaped from child marriage in Tanzania and worked on her PhD in America. She always dreamed about establishing a community centre for women and girls in Tanzania. Although her dream did not come true but she left quite the legacy for her children and for Massai women. My sympathies and love for her children, her husband Peter Morris, family and friends.
I will miss your bright smile, funny stories, positive attitude, and so much more Rebecca. Your presence has always brought joy to those around you. Your friendship will be truly missed. Rest in peace.
I have only just received word of Rebecca’s passing. I am very sorry and send my deepest condolences to her family and friends. She was a graduate student in my Sociology Graduate Seminar on Sociological Theory. She excelled in that class, an “A’ student and an “A” human being. She was never afraid of taking up a challenge and strived for self-improvement. I am not at all surprised she was close to finishing her PhD and am sure she would have made a wonderful professor in her field of study. Again, my condolences to her family and friends.
Stephen Philion
Chair, Department of Sociology
St. Cloud State University