St. Louis, Missouri, native and Burke, Virginia, native, Funmi Adeyemi has passed away, he checked all the boxes and by every measure was extremely proficient. He was also deeply intellectual. He was a great Officer and someone who would hear what you had to say and work with it. Funmi Adeyemi was definitely one of a kind.
He went to Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School and studied Major-Political Science/Minor-Russian Language at United States Naval Academy.
According to Johnny Fish; “I served with him for 3 years at 2d LAR in multiple roles, although never directly. We developed a friendship, we sat next to one another on our flight from NC to Iraq. I remember always chatting with him and his kindness and genuine interest in you as a person.”
“He wasn’t made in the mold of a typical USMC infantry officer, and I think that was a strength, I also think it left him on the outside a little. He checked all the boxes and by every measure was extremely proficient. He was also deeply intellectual. I recall many conversations about religion and his Jewish faith. He never preached or put his faith out there but when you got to know him he opened up. Spoke about his conversion to Jewish and the challenges, etc.” Fish continued.
“After serving together I always enjoyed chatting on social media with him and especially his retro 80s cartoon posts. The childhood memories which arose from his post were often a calming reminder in stressful days.
On a selfish note, I’m saddened because I didn’t learn more from him. On larger perspective I’m sad that his family won’t have such a good man in their lives anymore, I’m also sad for humanity, now fewer people will get to experience such a masterful mentor and example.