Photography for Maggie's funeral service and celebration of life

My dearest aunty Maggie, though we are not blood, I’m blessed to call you family. I have so many core memories from growing up and I thank you for bringing me a sister. I will always remember how you would tell us to behave or you’d call the police, or as Ciru would say the “tolice”. I was never able to do sleepovers but I was always comfortable being in your home, the one place to sleep outside my own. I consider you a mother figure and I appreciate you more than words. You will truly be missed. I know you are looking down on us and cheering us on. I wish we had more time together. Thank you for being there in my young years and keeping me as if I was your own daughter. I always look back at the fun times we had, the daycare drop offs and pick ups, the birthday parties and shopping trips. You mean so much to so many and thank you. Love you forever from Ciru big 💚

Maggie, thank you for the beautiful light you have given this world - Ciru, she has been the most kindhearted person and a true friend 🩷 I’m so lucky to have a wonderful person like Ciru as someone I can call on. Your love and spirit lives in her, I know you are resting easy in eternal peace now. Thank you Maggie.

My love goes out to everyone experiencing this tremendous loss 🩷

It is hard to say goodbye to my dear friend, but I will cherish the memories we made over the years.  I will forever be grateful for our friendship.  To Chris and Ciru, sometimes there are no words for a loss so great.  I pray that the God of Comfort gives you healing in the coming days. 

Tata nice

The love you shared with all of us was unmeasured. You had no limit since you had a way to distribute your love to all of us and we reciprocated as it came to us. I could not have enough of you. I looked forward to the school holidays since you would want me to come stay with you. That way I met most of your close friends even met your husband to be then. I got to have the fine things like nice outfits that you brought every time you travelled abroad, designer perfumes , fine jewelry among other items that you shared.

I cannot list every detail that I got to enjoy through you. I got to learn how to make pork chops that to date has been a signature dish in my house. When I was blessed with my beautiful girls you would send outfits that would match the same with Ciru and you wished to have the girls join you so pthey can grow up together… it took years but when they finally met it’s like they have been together for years. I cannot list every write so many memories since the list is endless I will for sure treasure every bit of them. We travelled the same flight to the United States for the first time we had a layover in London Heathrow and we promised each other that we would visit when we settle. 

We kept postponing our visit every time I requested but it never came to pass but I am glad that My daughter Nduta made it and you created some memories. When you started ailing no one knew what you were going through it is still unbelievable that I never got to see you but we wound have the conversations of what the doctors were advising you. I thought you are getting better and I was overjoyed that I will get to visit now. 

Come Easter I tried to call you. But you never answered my call and Easter Monday we finally got to talk I could hear you struggle with conversation and we agreed that we shall keep in touch twice a week only that this was the last time that we talked. Death has robbed us a beautiful soul. We love you and your legacy will leave on. Just like the way you loved and cared for us we are passing that love to your wonderful beautiful daughter Ciru.

Tata Maggie our ray of sunshine , we loved you so much but God decision to call you home this season was best.

Koma thayu Tata Maggie.

Ciiru Nduta

My tribute to aunt/tata maggy

Memories down the lane

When I was young my aunt used to baby sit us during school holidays and we loved her dearly.

I miss those days she used to bath all of us outside the house when she would scrub us very well with that muratina and especially when you have a sore on your legs 🦵 that’s when you will face feel the tingling pain.

Will miss you♥️

Last night while staying at Aunty Maggie’s house I woke up to the brightest moon I have ever seen. Almost as though the lights in the house were on or a flashlight was shining in my face. I got up and went to the patio to take photos of the moon and felt like Maggie was there with me. I remember watching the views of the Vancouver harbor with Tata at night whenever we visited. Views from her building are always breathtaking. I remember how she would smile and say with her girly voice “isn’t it beautiful?” That statement pretty much summed up my view of Aunty Maggie. Even as a little girl growing up, that was what I constantly saw in her - the smile and determination within the smile. She was going to beat the odds regardless of circumstances. As a child getting thoroughly scrubbed by Aunty Maggie until your skin was shinning on the outside and burning on the inside was common place. Ask her nieces and nephews they’ll tell you. I learned this about her as early as age 4 which meant that Maggie was 13, a teenager only nine years older than me. At that age she would line us all up and scrub us wholesale style from head to toe. Later on when people saw us on the street we didn’t need an introduction. We had Tata Maggie written all over us. Later she would clean the house, wash dishes, put us to bed, wake up before everyone, make breakfast, do laundry and do it all over again the following day. Tata Maggie was like a mother hen keeping us organized and making sure nobody strayed. You knew not to stray anyway. Needless to say when I was a teenager Aunty Maggie was my hero. I wanted to dress like her, talk like her, live in cool places like she did, have beautiful friends and an amazing job at the Canadian High Commission. One of the last conversations I had with Tata she told me “no Kinga niî na we Tûtirî twaga kwendana na kũiguana”. You and I have never had an issue we couldn’t resolve together lovingly. That was the best gift she left me. Her love and her confidence in me that together we always found a way to resolve and agree. May your light live on forever sweet Tata and may it constantly illuminate in all our lives. Thank you for the all the life lessons and especially to resolve to agree and agree to resolve and to always love unconditionally. 

Maggie your radiant smile and personality can never be matched.  You are in a better place now. We love you and will miss you. Rest In Peace.

A LEGACY

Dearest Aunt Maggie,

You have always been part of my life from as far back as I can remember. As a child, I came up looking up to you as the hip and trendy Auntie; you were knowledgeable about everything and connected to everyone. I never stopped looking up to you or seeking your counsel and instruction. You were an auntie and a big sister rolled into one, always looking out for us nieces and nephews.

During the analog days, before cell phones or the internet, you found a way to get a message to us, to stay connected to us and to remain present and relevant in our lives. You have always been just a phone call away, always approachable and available.

I remember when I was fresh out of college where they had told us that we would walk into jobs that were waiting for us - you stepped in and guided me on how to realistically approach the marketplace. You got me my first job at P. K. Mureithi Law Firm, your then landlord at Nairobi West.

Remember how you made us international - the nieces and nephews - how you made sure we had passports in our pockets? You told us exactly where to go, you had already set up the appointment and all we had to do was show up. You also financed all our errands so we were never stuck while running around in government or other offices, trying to get our paperwork in order.

Dear Tata, you taught us the valuable lesson of paying it forward; of living our lives with an open hand. Everything you had - resources, contacts, accommodations - it was all for giving away to other people so they could improve their situation. Your heart was the size of this planet, and we are all the better for it, individually and collectively.

You also taught us another valuable lesson of being quick on our feet, because time is money and waits for no one. You taught us to strike the proverbial iron while it was still hot; that every lead that comes our way is to be acted on immediately without delay. You taught us to be urgent and productive and purposeful individuals, to pursue excellence as our baseline, and in all our dealings, to love people - because you cannot help people without first loving them.

You taught us life skills that set us up for success - you showed us how to stay organized, to be presentable and to be eloquent. With your direction, life was not as daunting, because you showed us how to take small digestible and manageable bites, instead of biting off big chunks that would overwhelm us.

Our cherished and adoring Tata, you taught us that everything in this life is for sharing; that there is enough in this world to go around, that there is enough to share with each other, and there is more than enough to come back around many times over.

Thank you for this beautiful legacy, this indelible mark and fingerprint you have left in our minds, but, above all, you have laid it upon our hearts. 

Honoring Her Life and Cherished Memories

In the tapestry of life, some threads shine brighter than others, weaving colors of compassion, wisdom, and love into the lives they touch. Today, I pause to honor the memory of a lady whose light was too radiant for mere words to capture and whose presence forever graced the lives of those fortunate enough to know her. Shine with angles Maggie.

RIP my dear friend, this was a true shock to all your old friends from Nairobi West. Everything that has been said about Maggie is a true reflection of who she was.  Although we have not been in touch for quite sometime, you were never forgotten.  If only I knew that you were fighting such a ruthless battle, of cancer, I truly would have wanted to come and visit you. To Ciru and Chris, May you find strength and peace that only God alone can give. It is well… it is well..

I knew Maggie through Ciru. Ciru and I met in nursing school and ended up spending a lot of time together. Within our first few conversations she started telling me about her mother and how she was her best friend. After that Maggie was a regular part of our conversations; the funny thing she had said to Ciru that day, the piece of advice that Ciru had taken to heart and not only chosen to live by, but also share with me to try and set me straight as well, the sacrifices she had made for Ciru, the kind of mother she was to her growing up, the miracle of Ciru's birth, her plans for them in the future. Eventually I got to meet this person I had only heard of in legends. It was kind of like meeting a celebrity. I didn't expect that anyone could live up to the version of her that Ciru had woven for me in her stories but Maggie exceeded it. I got to know her in my own way after that, having conversations in the laundry room of our shared apartment building, working along side Maggie, being invited for dinners and "self care" nights, and recieving multiple precious mom hugs. The more I got to know her, the more I grew to love her as well. Maggie was an amazing person and I grieve her loss not only for her family but for myself. She was a bright light and a strong force and the world will never be the same for having her in it. Rest easy Maggie. I love you.

"Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality." - Emily Dickinson 

𝐀 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐍𝐲𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨-𝐎'𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧- "𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞"

For years, you were part of my life, Maggie — Margaret Nyakiringa Boro-O’Brien. We never met in person.

Yet, through WhatsApp chats, voice notes, and long-distance calls, you became family. A sister. A soul deeply etched into the story of my life.

When your sister — Mama Karani — called to break the news of your death, I was numb. The words hit me like a bolt of lightning slicing through steel.

A shockwave tore through me. Grief doesn’t knock. It kicks the door down.

Ours wasn’t the kind of friendship that begins over coffee or shared office space.

Ours was forged in the heat of frustration — strangers united by a common pain.

More than a decade ago, we both bought land in Kiambu County. It should have been a dream fulfilled.

Instead, we were drawn into a murky battle with rogue land sellers — clergymen from the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) no less — who betrayed our trust and held back our title deeds.

We met in a WhatsApp group with over 1,000 buyers — each of us angry, anxious, desperate.

But it wasn’t just a group chat. It was a battlefield. And somehow, amidst the noise, our paths aligned.

In January 2018, when President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed George Kinoti as the new Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, I felt a flicker of hope. Kinoti was an old friend.

I rallied the group and helped form a team to present our case. That act — that moment — brought you closer.

You pulled my number from the group and reached out. You told me you were in North Vancouver, Canada, and that you couldn’t fight this battle from overseas. You asked for my help. And I said yes.

That call planted the seed of a friendship that blossomed into something rare and beautiful.

In 2022, our bond deepened. You shared something personal. Devastating. You had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

You’d lost your breasts to surgery.

You were enduring the cruelty of chemotherapy. And yet, even as you faced that storm, you remained hopeful.

You told me you drew strength from my story — from my own brutal war with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2009. You had read my posts, followed my journey.

We became each other’s anchors. I understood the chemo-induced fatigue, the metallic taste in your mouth, the fear, the faith.

When the cancer crept back into your lungs, I knew the road ahead would be cruel. But even as your voice grew hoarse, breath shallow from the poison meant to save you, you still found ways to laugh.

Still cracked those dry jokes. Still dared to dream.

You spoke often of Ciru — your beautiful star. Her smile, her spirit, the dreams you stitched for her in silence.

Those conversations became our lifeline.

You’d call, your voice a whisper of its former self, urging me to help sort out your titles, always hopeful, always planning.

Even when the chemo drained your strength, stole your voice and left you too weak to speak, you tapped your words into WhatsApp, one trembling letter at a time.

We talked through silence, through screens, through the fog of pain.

And yet, in those moments, you clung to life. You told me, again and again, “I can’t wait to come home. To Kenya. To finally meet you, hug you, laugh until we cry.”

I believed you. God, I needed to believe you.

But life… life had other plans.

But we both knew — even if we never said it aloud — that death was no longer at the door. It was in the room, watching, waiting to strike.

Still, you hoped. And so did I.

On Sunday, cancer claimed you. Just like that. Gone. And with your passing, a part of me went silent too.

You didn’t just support me emotionally. You stood with me when I shared plans to mark 15 years of my cancer recovery on July 21, 2024.

You gave generously — even when your own health was failing. That was Maggie: unwavering, kind, full of grace.

You were more than a friend. You were family. And some people — even strangers — walk into your life and leave footprints that never fade.

To your beautiful daughter Ciru Boro, and your husband Chris O’Brien — I send my deepest, most heartfelt condolences.

I mourn with you. I weep with you. I stand with you.

Ironically, your passing comes just two days before I lost my cousin and childhood friend, Moses Kinuthia Muiruri, to throat cancer. Another fighter. Another light dimmed too soon.

Cancer keeps stealing our best. And yet, in your memory, in Moses’ memory, in the memory of every warrior lost — we carry on.

We remember. We live. We give thanks to God for the breath in our lungs.

Rest well, Maggie. You were brave. You were beautiful. You were a blessing.

From Kiambu to North Vancouver, our friendship defied distance and time. Death may have silenced your voice — but not your spirit. Not your legacy.

Sleep in perfect peace, dear friend.

TRIBUTE TO MAGGIE

..........from Naivasha Girls Classmates/ Schoolmates.....

Dear Maggie Bore (as we used to call you), thank you for being an ever-present friend to any girl that required you. You brought life to our class and school in general by your infectious smile. One had to work very hard to put out your smile. Even the times that we would receive canes for noise making in class, or speaking in our vernacular languages, which you were always a victim of, your cry of pain would always and quickly be replaced by your beautiful smile. Even the teacher beating you up would get confused and start laughing too, and the entire class would follow as you turned round and round hiding your painful hands. You were also very active, almost in every activity taking place in school...singing, hockey, volley-ball, net-ball, drama etc, etc. Time and distance has always tried to erase memories, but Alas... it hasn't worked!. After school, each one of us went different directions as life threw us to various corners of the Country and the World. We were very happy when we got re-united through technology... WhatsApp and as a group, we discussed issues as if we were all in Naivasha Girls once again. This rekindled the many, many memories, the jokes, and all other issues we passed through together as young girls from Form 1 to Form 4. On the WhatsApp group, you were very active and engaging privately too. When you suddenly slowed down many didn't know that you were undergoing some challenges with your health. You decided to fight it boldly and we believe with a smile as always. Maggie Bore, little did we know that in that morning your maker will gather you to himself..n life, we loved you dearly and in death, we'll do the same.

But as God calls us one by one, our link will once again be connected.

For ever in our hearts.

RIP MAGGIE BORO

...Naivasha Girls Alumni...

💐🪷Maggie was truly a ray of sunshine, known for her infectious smile and wonderful sense of humor. She embodied generosity, love, kindness, and compassion, always treating others with deep respect and wisdom. It's important to remember that wisdom is not merely acquired through education; it is a divine gift from God, generously given to those who seek it.

Chris, Maggie often spoke of you with great fondness. She felt secure in your love and support, both in health and in sickness. You were her rock during her darkest moments, and she cherished you dearly as her husband. Thank you, Chris, for everything you did for Maggie—our beloved friend, sister, aunt, wife, and mother.

Ciru, take comfort in knowing how much you meant to your mother and how deeply she loved and appreciated you. I have no worries for you, as your mother always spoke highly of your sensibility and forward-thinking nature. It's perfectly okay to feel sadness during this time. Remember the words from Proverbs 3:5: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

I met Maggie through my sister Wairimu, who attended high school with her at Naivasha Girls. To their surprise, they discovered they were actually related through family marriages. Interestingly, the piece of land where Wairimu farms avocados was sold to my grandfather many years ago by Maggie's father, long before we understood the true value of such assets! This just goes to show how small the world is and how interconnected we all are in one way or another.

During my time in Kenya, I engaged in a curio business with Maggie, both before and after she moved to Canada. Our relationship and friendship span many years, and I believe it will continue by God’s grace.

Wairimu and I loved Mum very much, and that love will forever remain in our hearts. I had the honour of being your mother's bridesmaid, and Wairimu’s daughter Natasha (3 and a half years old) was a flower girl. During my time in Kenya, she visited me in Kyuna numerous times, filling our days with laughter. Maggie was incredibly enterprising; everything she touched seemed to flourish, showcasing her remarkable business acumen.

I pray that you inherit her legacy of greatness and grace through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jane Seymour (UK) and Wairimu Wainaina (Kenya) 💐