Obituary of Thabang Ben Ntenteni Maphoso

Always in our hearts, Thabang 

Thabang Ben Ntenteni Maphoso of Surrey, BC, Canada, born in exile to Magorakazi Ntenteni (Ngalo) and Justice Maphoso in Morogoro, Tanzania on November 9, 1980, passed away unexpectedly on March 28, 2021.   

He is survived by his wife Tina Alime (7 years married and 17 years together), his parents Magorakazi Ntenteni, Justice Maphoso, Themba Ntenteni, Nelago Kangwaya Maphoso, his siblings Keeno, Mpho, Vuysiwa, Edward, Mercy, Thabi and Thabo, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, extended family, numerous friends and childhood friends.  Thabang grew up 11 years in Mazimbu, Tanzania during the struggle, lived the next 11 years in Soweto and Centurion, South Africa, and moved to Surrey, BC, Canada in 2002 to join his biological father and family.  

Thabang, “Choppy”, was loving, kind, witty, independent, strong minded, and held tight to his convictions.  Thabang was social, personable and made friends wherever he went, he could talk to anyone, anywhere about anything, told stories about various daily adventures and made people feel at ease in engaging conversations, his humour bringing light and smiles to all those around him.   He enjoyed spending time with family and friends, listening to music, going to concerts, staying up to date and conversing about current affairs, creative cooking, camping and travelling.  He worked as a forklift operator.  He was well travelled, visiting several cities in South Africa, Tanzania, Palestine, Israel, Kenya, United States, Cuba and Canada.  Thabang was proud of his Xhosa heritage, and always looked forward to returning to South Africa to spend time with his family.  He brought Tina there 3 times, the last time engaging in a traditional Xhosa ceremony at his family’s traditional hometown, Cradock, Eastern Cape, welcoming Tina to his family, giving her the Xhosa name Alime, where he and his family gathered and celebrated, prayed, sang, slaughtered a sheep and shared treasured memories and life stories.  Thabang could speak 8 languages fluently and enjoyed intertwining languages in conversations and then speaking to someone else in another language without hesitation. He was active in the South African community in Canada, served as a secretary of the South African Cultural Association of BC, helping to organize events to promote South African culture. 

Thabang leaves us with many fond memories, he liked to say “Its all GOOD, everything works out for me”, optimistic about life but has left us too soon with unfulfilled ambitions, goals and dreams. His kind, personable, witty presence made a strong impression on his family and friends. Thabang means “be happy” in Sotho, we hope you are happy and leave us with many happy memories held close to our hearts.  He will be dearly missed by his wife, family and friends.  All our love. Lala ka kuhle Mgebe!

There will be no funeral service at this time because of health restrictions except for immediate family, a zoom meeting will be held with his wife, Tina and mother,  Makazi to send your condolences TBA.