Dr Doris Dartey laid to rest

The remains of one of the country’s finest media practitioners, Dr Doris Yaa Korantenmaa Dartey, were yesterday laid to rest at the Lashibi Funeral Homes, near Tema.

A former board chairperson of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Dr Dartey passed away at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on July 19, this year, after succumbing to breast cancer, a disease she battled for about six years.

A pre-burial ceremony for the media consultant was attended by dignitaries mostly from the media fraternity. They included the Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Ato Afful; the Director, News of the GCGL, Mrs Mavis Kitcher; a communications lecturer and media consultant, Dr Bonnah Koomson, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Rowland Affail Monney; a former Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Nana Kwasi Gyan Appenteng and a former Editor of The Spectator newspaper, Mrs Tina Aforo Yeboah.

Also present were her family members, among whom was her 92-year-old mother, friends and associates.

Tributes

Tributes by her two daughters, grandchildren and son-in-law were read by one of her daughters, Mrs Darkoa Ofori-Afaglo, who described her late mother as an academic who attended universities in Ghana and the United States of America (USA).

Dr Dartey taught Communications and Public Relations courses for 16 years at the University of Dayton, the Mount Mercy University, the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).

She served on several boards in the USA and in Ghana, including the National Media Commission (NMC) and was also a member of the GCGL Board which she later chaired.

She mentored many professional communicators, journalists and public relations practitioners.

Sermon

In a sermon, the General Overseer of the Evangel Church International, Reverend Dr James Obeng, drew on 2 Timothy 4, which reads: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. ... The Lord will repay him for what he has done,” to describe the life of Dr Dartey.

He said she was inspiring, vibrant, strong, God-fearing and that whatever Dr Dartey set out to do, she did it very well.

Profile

Dr Dartey graduated from the University of Cape Coast with a BA (Honours) degree in Education and also held a Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana; an MA in International Affairs (Development Communication option); a Graduate Diploma in Women’s Studies and a PhD in Organisational Communication, all from the Ohio University in the USA.

She worked full-time as a communications consultant and undertook assignments for donor-funded projects of national and international institutions.

Her consultancy centred on the environment, sanitation, gender, research and communication skills training and she also served on several boards in Ghana and the USA.

Dr Dartey also had a presence in newspapers and television as she hosted programmes on Ghana Television for 12 years and also authored The WatchWoman column in The Spectator.

Read also: Dr Doris Dartey passes on