Francis attended Accra Royal School where he obtained the Middle School Leaving Certificate in 1952. His secondary education was at West Africa Secondary School in Accra where he passed the West Africa School Certificate Examination in 1957.
After completing his secondary education, he worked at UTC Departmental Stores in Accra for five years during which period Francis married Agnes Naa Anyema Quaye in 1961.
A year later in February 1962, Francis left Ghana for the shores of the United Kingdom (UK) to further his education. On his journey by sea, he visited some West African countries, marvelled at dolphins and other sea mammals, experienced the rough seas of the Bay of Biscay, ventured to Spain and France, and then via the English Channel, he docked at Dover UK. This broadened his horizons and satisfied the curiosity he had for travelling. From the shores of Dover, he settled in Finsbury Park
before finally moving to Fulham, working in various hotels and factories to save and fund his living and education.
Later, his wife joined him in the UK. In 1963, Francis gained a full government scholarship and studied marketing at the City of London Polytechnic (now London Guildhall University) where he completed his final examinations. His examination performance earned him admission as a member of the Institute of Marketing (IOM). He was also a member of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries in 1972 after further studies. Additionally, he later became an accredited
Accountant after obtaining qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Several years later, he returned to Ghana to work in the Ghana Civil Service. He was posted to the Internal Revenue Department as Inspector of Taxes. He realised the salary was so meagre that it would fit in into his back pocket. He left after six months to work with American Tyre Manufacturing Company, Firestone (Ghana Limited) as the Company Accountant for three years.
In 1977, Francis left Firestone and returned to London. Whilst in London, he was employed by Unilever as Finance Officer for many years until he joined the United Kingdom Civil Service as Finance and Accounting Officer in the Department of Environment. Francis held this position and diligently worked for seventeen years. In his final eighteen months with the Department, he worked with an extremely high-performance team. Francis was part of a team seconded to the UK Cabinet Office to utilise his skillset within finance and administrative support to the Cabinet under the then Prime Minister, John Major.
Having been married for thirty-two years and blessed with four children, his wife predeceased him and the children after a short illness on 13 November 1993.
Francis met Madam Dora in 1997 and they became very good friends. They later agreed to move their friendship into a permanent relationship, and in May 2005 they got married and lived happily together.
Francis embraced the Christian faith and was baptised in Thomas Clegg Memorial Church in Kaneshie, Accra when he was a teenager. He was later confirmed in the same church. Francis never lost his faith in God and being a committed Christian, he joined the Walworth Methodist Church in London. In the Church, he held many positions, such as Class Leader, Steward, and Circuit Steward. He was also a member of the Walworth Men’s Fellowship.
Francis was a kind, generous, selfless, humorous, and sociable person who enjoyed life. His presence at many functions won him many hearts and friends. He was honest and friendly with people he met in life. He devoted his time to family affairs and showed love to the family and people outside the family. His circle of friends included both genders whether young or old. He was loved and respected by people who met him. He enjoyed life, sharing stories of life, his daily crossword, and his trips to the library to update himself on world politics and in his latter years going to the gym.
Francis died peacefully at home on Sunday 30th October 2022 after a short illness. He will be greatly missed by all the family and many friends! He is survived by his wife, four children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
May his soul rest in peace! Francis, woye hedzolemili!!!
