Sindu Mulugeta

Sindu Mulugeta was born on June 3, 1961, in Debre Zeyit, Ethiopia. Her mother, Abozench Gebrehana, and father, Mulugeta Damte, had 7 children and Sindu was the third. Shitaye, Nigist, Asgadech, Sofiya, Kidist and Abera together made up her loving family. She lived a humble life in her small town. She was married to Alemu Mengistu in 1978 and had their first son, Sinafik. In 1980, the young family immigrated to the United States and moved to Madison, WI. In 1982, Sindu graduated from West High School in Madison, Wisconsin and attended Madison Area Technical College. She and Alemu had their second son, Fikre in 1983. She obtained her certified nursing assistant degree and began working in nursing homes in the area, where she regularly obtained awards for her dedication to patient care, such as the Daisy award.

She was divorced in 1995. She married Bernard Figueroa, and they bore a son, Samuel Figueroa. In 1997, Sindu moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota and continued her work as a certified nursing assistant in various nursing homes in the area. In these nursing homes, she met her life partner Eric Brown, whom she lived with, travelled with and was with until her last hour. In 2001, Sindu bought a home in Oakdale, Minnesota, a small suburban town near the Twin Cities, where she raised her sons. She was blessed with her first grandchild, Evan in 2014.

With the arrival of Liyu in 2017, her second grandchild and first granddaughter, she moved to Henderson, Nevada where Liyu was born. She always said she wanted to help raise her grandchildren and spoil them. In her words, 'It's a grandma's dream to raise her grandkids'. Her chance to live her dreams arrived with Liyu and she gave up her life in Oakdale without hesitation. She worked at the St. Rose Hospitals. She was loved dearly, won nursing awards and patients would give her gifts frequently. This was the effect of her love, compassion and strong work ethic. She was an active member of Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Church, where she volunteered, visited the sick and faithfully attended services multiple times a week. These contributions and time there helped form strong bonds with church patrons. Sindu is survived by her life partner, Eric; three children, Sinafik, Fikre, and Samuel, whom she loved dearly and gave up so much for. She also has five grandchildren that were her whole world, Evan (age 9 years), Liyu (7), Zoe (7), Eyasu (5), and Amari (8months) .She enjoyed being a grandmother and almost everything she did since they were born was focused on them. She lived her dream. She is also remembered and loved by Shitaye, Nigist, Asgadech, Sofiya and Abera. The Ethiopian Christian fellowship congregation, innumerable extended family members, in-laws and professional colleagues will forever be imprinted with the kindness in her heart and the power in her soul.