Rotary International president–elect dies ahead of investiture

Rotarians across the world are mourning the sudden death of Ugandan Sam Frobisher Owori, president-elect of service organization Rotary International.

Sam Owori was to be invested President of Rotary International on July 1, 2018 but died on Thursday, July 13, this year from suspected post-operation complications after a planned surgery in Texas, USA.

A tribute to his memory posted on the Rotary website, www.rotary.org, said a service was held for him on Friday, July 21 at the St Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford, Texas ahead of the body being flown to Uganda on July 24, 2017 for official burial rites.

The late Samuel Frobisher Owori

“Sam's term as Rotary International’s 108th president would have begun on 1st July 2018 and he would have been the second person from the African continent to hold this position”, the tribute said.

The third child in a family of fourteen, the 70-year-old Sam Owori was born in West Budama district, Uganda and is survived by his dear wife Norah, three sons, siblings and grandchildren.

He is acknowledged as an “inspiration to Rotarians in Africa especially and all over the world.”