Obituary of Daniel Gettiye
Daniel was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on June 10th, 1983 as the youngest of five children. He was a loving and expressive child, always surprising his family with humorously clever things he would say. Daniel loved his family, often choosing to spend time with them over going out to play with other kids. As he grew, so did his love for his God, Jehovah. On October 18th, 1998, he was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, thus beginning his lifelong career of whole-souled service.
When Daniel was nineteen, he moved to the United States where he later met the love of his life, Rebecca. The two were married on May 31st, 2008. Together they served as regular pioneers, volunteering their time to help others learn more about the Bible. In 2013 , they graduated from the School for Kingdom Evangelizers and were assigned back to the Amharic Congregation in St. Paul, MN. Title and position meant nothing to Daniel; he just wanted to be involved, helping however he could. Over the years, he had the privilege of working in the Electrical Department, building Kingdom Halls and helping construct the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Warwick, NY. He also completed training to teach Amharic and sought out ways to help his local congregation wherever he could.
As much as Daniel loved an excellent cup of coffee, he got his energy from being around people. He would have been happy to have friends over to his house every day. He loved his friends in such a way that he seemed to have a special connection, a “thing” with every one of them. They will remember Daniel as always smiling, always happy, always joking. But also as gracious, kind, and approachable to all. Kids loved him as much as he loved them.
Most of all, Daniel loved Jehovah God. He found strength in the promise that very soon, God “will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore” (Revelation 21:4). Daniel fell asleep in death on December 5th, 2018 with absolute confidence that Jehovah would soon bring him back to life (John 5:28, 29).
Daniel is survived by his wife Rebecca, his mother Abaynesh and his three sisters: Eyerusalem, Saron and Maleda. He is preceded in death by his father, Gettiye Demessie and his brother Yafet.
Memorial services for Daniel will be held on Saturday, December 15th, 2018 at 2PM at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses at 678 Hague Ave. St. Paul, MN 55104. Any further questions please email Christina.lewismn@gmail.com.
