Dr. Maureen Obiamaka Aniakudo

Dr. Maureen Obiamaka (Gracious of heart) Aniakudo was born to the late Hugh Obiesili and Mary Aniakudo on October 30th, 1964 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She attended Christ King School (Wauwatosa, WI); Divine Savior Holy Angels High School (Milwaukee, WI); and Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH). Upon graduating from Darmouth, Maureen became the second African American female firefighter in Milwaukee Fire Department. She and the first Black female firefighter, Valerie Matthews, developed a fast friendship, which has continued to this day. Maureen became an EMT-D for the department, part of the Dive Team, participating in Deep Tunnel Rescue and fighting fires for ten years until she was stricken with Sudden Death Syn- drome in 1997 which forced her to retire. Maureen did not stop living or working. Maureen remained committed to saving lives as she pur- sued a degree in medicine from the University of Wisconsin Med- ical School. Upon graduation, she moved to San Antonio, Texas where she worked at Baptist Medical Center and later at Seaton Medical Harbor Heights in Killeen, Texas. While in San Antonio, she attended the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio where she completed her residency in Psychiatry. As a licensed psychiatrist, Maureen contracted with the Armed Forc- es and worked with soldiers who suffered PTSD and other men- tal difficulties. Maureen was dedicated to increasing access for minori- ties and women in nontraditional fields and higher education. To this end she developed several projects aimed at increasing ac- cess for women and minorities through volunteering her time to train women to increase their physical conditioning and athleti- cism in order to pass the rigors of entrance physical exams for MFD and MPD. She opened a clinic in Milwaukee to serve the un- derserved and acted as a training site for clinicians in the behav- ioral health field. Through her efforts over 50 clinicians have gained or increased their licensure. Maureen's great passion was her daughter Elise. She made sure Elise received an education that was both richly academic and highly experiential. To this end, Elise is a college graduate and gainfully employment, which allows her to be self-sufficient. Maureen was an avid skier who loved skiing in Colorado and New Hampshire. She loved sailing and wind sailing in the Caribbean, especially in Jamaica and Bermuda. She also biked throughout Europe. She enjoyed exploring other cultures through their art which directed her travels to Japan, South Ko- rea, England, France, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Morocco. She was able to visit her father's ancestral country of Nigeria several times, especially the cities of Lagos and Onitsha. Maureen's paternal grandmother always celebrated these visits with something special. Maureen was born to Eternal Life on June 3rd, 2018. She was preceded in death by her father, Hugh Obiesilli Okafor Aniakudo, her maternal grandparents Mary and Frank Rigler and paternal grandparents Magdeline Ogbaji Iweanya Okafor and Samuel Aniakudo Okafor. Maureen's departure from this earthly existence is mourned by her daughter Elise Blackmon, mother Mary Aniakudo, sister Patricia Aniakudo, brother Obiesili Aniakudo II (Ann). Her family also includes nephews Gabriel and Obiesili III and nieces Brianna and Emery. She is also survived by extended family her father's native land of Nigeria including uncles Con- rad Edozie Okafor, Victor Chidi Okafor and Samuel Onyere Okafor; and aunts Patricia Anene Okafor Anionwu, Florence Obianuju Iwenofu, and Edith Obiageli Okafor (Ndiwe).

Dr. Maureen Obiamaka Aniakudo

October 30, 1964 - June 3, 2018