Rev. Yusef Ahmed
The Rev. Yusef Ahmed, 71, a retired Elder no longer a member of the conference, died July 27, 2018. A funeral service was held Aug. 4, at Sharp Street Memorial UMC in Baltimore.
Yusef Joseph Ahmed, the son of the late Elizabeth “Judie" and Hassan Ahmed, was born Jan. 6, 1943, in Niagara Falls, New York. His mother was a cook and domestic, his father a Somali immigrant and factory worker.
Raised in Niagara Falls, NY, Greensboro, NC, and Baltimore, he graduated from Edmondson High School in 1962. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History at Morgan State College in 1970; and a Master’s in Urban Planning and Public Policy Analysis in 1972. During this period, he held a number of positions in state and regional offices. In 1978, he received a Doctor of Divinity degree.
In 1975, while sitting in Metropolitan UMC in Baltimore, God called him to preach. After much prayer and fasting, he resigned his position with the U.S. Navy and enrolled at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., in January 1976. He earned a Master of Divinity from the Howard University School of Religion in 1979 and in 1981 was ordained an Elder by the Baltimore-Washington Conference.
Ahmed served the people of The United Methodist Church for more than 35 years. His pastorates included: St. John UMC in Baltimore (1976); St. Matthew's UMC in Baltimore (1978); Strawbridge UMC (1980) where he increased the membership from 36 to 258 members. From 1984 to 2010, he served churches in New York, Delaware and New Jersey. He also served on district and jurisdiction boards and committees.
He taught at various community colleges and universities, mentored countless students, and guided numerous persons into ministry and seminary. He held teaching position at Catonsville Community College, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and in Buffalo.
Ahmed believed in the benefit and importance of friendship through fraternal, civic, and social organizations. He was a member since high school of the O.B.E. fraternity. He held membership in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., NAACP, National Association of Black Social Workers, Free and Excepted Masons, Improved and Benevolent Protected Order of Elks of the World, and was a charter chapter member of the Optimist International.
In 1978, he was awarded the Benjamin E. Mays Scholarship at Howard University. While attending school he was given the Vernon Johns Award for Preaching, He also was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Award in Race Relations from Wilbur H. Waters School of Religion.
Muhammad Ahmed, his eldest son preceded him in death.
Survivors include Towanda Stewart, Efa Ahmed-Williams, Hassan (Sheree) Ahmed, and Kareem (Amanda) Ahmed; Jeanene Goins whom he took as his daughter and she as her father; seven grandchildren; members of his extended family, a brother and friends.
Condolences may be sent to the Ahmed Family, 1736 Ruxton Ave., Baltimore, MD 21216.