Jackson Lees Group lost one of its own two weeks ago. Felicia Aduke Oshodi had a long history with the firm from its early days in Liverpool 8 working as a secretary. When Liverpool 8 Law Centre opened Felicia was taken on there and was trained as a welfare benefits adviser. When the law centre closed Felicia worked for AS Law before joining us again in 2009 when we merged with AS Law. We are not sure of the exact dates but what we do know is that Felicia was one of the most loyal and dedicated staff members that any organisation could have wished for.
She worked 8am to 4pm and when I used to get in early Felicia was always at her desk getting on with her work before the office got busy. She was one of those people who never made a fuss, never sought the limelight, but was always there getting on with the job she was paid to do. There was an aura of calm and integrity that surrounded everything she did and she will be sorely missed in the office.
At her funeral the picture was overwhelmingly of a dedicated mother and family member. Employers sometimes forget that what we do at work is for the support and health of our families and those we love at home. It was clear to see that the picture we had of her dependability and integrity was demonstrated with knobs on at home! Although Felicia stopped doing welfare benefit advice with us, it appeared that members of the community valued her advice in an informal context as she was the person to go to for help and advice.
On the day I managed to catch up with a man named Wally Brown. I first met him at the Methodist Centre Youth Club on Princes Road in 1972 when I started volunteering there in the evenings. The church youth club was predominantly white until the David Lewis Centre closed and, looking for another place to call their own, the black kids found the Methodist. The youth leader Ewan Gilhespy was looking for an assistant and a guy from Aintree answered the advert. Wally was a black guy living in a predominantly white area who had been brought up in Liverpool 8. He was a junior manager with General Electric looking for a career change.
Me and Wally spoke of a time when we were trying to gain control of some mistrustful black attendees at the club. The Church was not going to be on their side and we needed some allies. Wally reminded me that the Oshodi family were one of the families that allowed us to gain trust by building a bridge with the children. This enabled the Methodist to play a huge role in the lives of young black kids in the neighbourhood. I don't remember Felicia from that time but I think that she must have been one of those young people.
When a business grows and develops, its long term employees are crucial to its success. We owe a lot to Felicia and to so many of our other staff who have spent long careers with us. It is only right that we look after them as best we can. Several years ago we decided to take out death in service cover for our staff members, an expense that a business might not pay. I think Felicia's family will be one of the first recipients of the scheme but thank goodness for being able to help the family in any way during this very difficult time.
As a member of the Liverpool black community, Felicia's prospects might not have seemed so good when she was growing up, however Felicia went on to thrive. I am very glad that we were a part of Felicia's life and played our part in supporting her family who loved her so much. One thing is for sure though, that Felicia repaid us handsomely with her loyal service.