Ruth Howard, respected missionary educator in Nigeria, dies at 91

Ruth Howard, a devoted British missionary and pioneering educator, has died at the age of 91. She was laid to rest in Moffat, Scotland, on July 2 2025, remembered on both sides of the world for a life poured wholly into the classroom — and far beyond its walls.

Arriving in Nigeria in January 1962 as a 28-year-old Anglican missionary, Howard devoted more than three decades — the entirety of her professional career — to nurturing young minds across the country. She began her teaching journey at St Anne’s School, Ibadan, in September 1962, just as Nigeria was finding its feet as a young, independent nation. There, she taught Mathematics up to A-Level and later served as Vice-Principal. But it was not only equations and formulas she imparted —  Howard handled elocution and drama too, winning the hearts of countless students whose lives she coloured with her warmth, humour, and irrepressible energy.

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Her Yoruba was famously non-tonal, but her deep affection for her adopted home was unmistakable. In family homes across Ibadan, her battered Volkswagen Beetle was a familiar sight, and her riotous greeting — “Wahala, wole!” — announced her joyful presence long before she reached the front door. “She always brought life and light with her,” recalls Gbenro Adegbola, whose family remained among her closest friends for decades.

After her years at St Anne’s, Howard took up leadership roles at Anglican Girls’ Grammar School, Ughelli, just after the Nigerian Civil War, and later at Idia College, Benin City. In both schools, she became known for her quiet but firm leadership, her fierce fairness, and her insistence on dignity for every child. She ensured that each girl had her own desk and chair — simple but vital steps in an era of scarce resources.

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In 1986, she was invited by the late Chief Emmanuel Adesoye to bring to life his dream of an international school in Offa, Kwara State. As the founding principal of Adesoye College from 1987, she set a high bar of academic excellence, moral discipline, and inclusive care that shaped a generation of students. She finally retired in 1999, at age 65, returning to the UK with her trademark Dr. Scholl clogs and countless memories of the country she loved so dearly.

For Howard, the connection to Nigeria never faded. “I miss my friends, the climate, the food — and the relaxed, friendly atmosphere,” she reflected. Her favourite treats were fried sweet potato, plantain, pounded yam and egusi soup — dishes that kept her tied to the land she called her second home.

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Her many friends remember her as more than a teacher: she was family, kindness in motion, and a beacon of integrity and laughter. Her legacy lives on in the thousands of young men and women she inspired to pursue knowledge, uphold fairness, and live generously.

“You gave yourself wholly to the task,” writes Adegbola in tribute. “Your memory blooms already in every life you touched. And it will echo still, in the generations they raise, and the dreams they pursue. Glory to God. Rest well, Aunty Ruth.”