Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour's life 'embodied the American Dream'
Hours before she was killed, Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was looking out for others by encouraging the community to attend a free American Heart Month health screening later this month at the public library, according to a post on her Facebook page.
Dwumfour also was looking for new career opportunities.
Just a month ago she posted on her LinkedIn page that she was interested in a new career and was seeking any connections, advice and opportunities that anyone could offer.
Her post indicated she was looking for scrum master, business analyst, project manager and engagement manager roles. Her post includes a definition of terms, including "scrum" as the framework in which people can address complex adaptive problems, while delivering products efficiently and with the highest possible value, and "scrum master" as the person responsible for maintaining the scrum process and the overall health of the team.
Her LinkedIn work profiles shows she had served as a full-time professional scrum master and business analyst for the nonprofit Fire Congress Fellowship Inc., whose address is also her home address on Pointe of Woods Drive, since December 2016, and director of churches for Champions Royal Assembly in Newark since May 2015, after previously working as a business analyst in Virginia and Maryland.
According to Fire Congress Fellowship's tax return, Dwumfour was its treasurer. The organization's mission is "to train God's children for work with God in ministry."
Dwumfour, 30, a Republican who had just finished her first year in office, was found Wednesday evening by Sayreville police with several gunshot wounds in her car outside her home.
Former Sayreville Mayor Kennedy O’Brien, also a Republican, who has known Dwumfour for about three years, said her death is a “terrible loss.”
“She has a pre-teen daughter,” O’Brien said. “She was just married in the fall. She has a successful software consulting company. She was an entrepreneur.”
Dwumfour's Facebook page included a wedding announcement for an Aug. 6, 2022, marriage to Eze Kings.
O’Brien said she was also a licensed professional EMT in Essex County and one of the pastors at Champions Royal Assembly in Newark, where her husband was also a church leader.
She was a product of the Newark school system and had a college degree, he said.
“Her parents came from Ghana,” O’Brien said. “Her roots were in Ghana, but her life was in America. She embodied the American Dream. As a person, she was motivated, self-disciplined and a self-starter. She was everything people come to America to be. She was a deeply religious woman, and as such she had an abundance of love to share. Her goal was to better the lives of others. She was an inspiring person. It will be a long time before I meet someone of her caliber.”
Dwumfour's LinkedIn page says she was a 2017 graduate of William Paterson University, where she majored in women's studies. She had lived in Sayreville for several years.
According to TapInto Raritan Bay, she was a member of the borough's Human Relations Commission before deciding to run for Borough Council in 2021 to play a more active role in ensuring Sayreville is a good place for children and the community to grow.
She said she was a graduate of the Newark school system before getting her bachelor’s degree from William Paterson. While in college she also worked part-time as an EMT in Passaic County and then moved to Sayreville after graduation because of the community's public safety work.
She listed road safety, infrastructure and supporting local business as among key issues.
In a GOP campaign video, Dwumfour identified herself as a "proud Sayreville mom" who said residents' concerns are what matters most.
Contributing: Staff Writer Susan Loyer
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Eunice Dwumfour: Sayreville NJ councilwoman remembered by friends
