Today,17 September is the birthday of former beauty queen, Helen Prest-Ajayi.
It is also her first birthday without her husband,the late Dr. Tosin Ajayi in 25 years.
Recounting their moments together, especially during her birthdays,the ageless beauty took to her social media page and share the their loving memories together.
‘I woke up this morning and realised that this is the first birthday I will spend without my husband in 25 years.
His quiet demeanor and unassuming look outwardly belied the fact that he was e-x-t-r-a as my daughters would say. He did everything with passion and then some. His motto was “What is worth doing, is worth doing to excess!” My husband was a REAL MAN, in every sense of the word. Full testosterone in everything he did. Everything was big and bold, but very loving.
My birthdays were always full of surprises. Partly because I would never remember (like today, ( just remembering now) and partly because of the gifts he would buy. For years he would always buy me a Hermès bag, a most expensive one, but not a popular recognisable one with their logo, so you wouldn’t know. I would be happy when I saw the orange box , then slightly (ever so slightly) peeved that it wasn’t one of the popular ones with the . When I would point it out to him. He would say “but this one is far more expensive” and show me the receipt, then end the conversation saying nonchalantly. “What does it matter? What is most important is that YOU know.” Gadgets were another popular choice (very manly), I possess every type of electronic gadget on the planet. Especially phones. The other day I asked the price of an HTC phone one of his favourite gifts to me.When they told me I almost passed out, “Whaaaat!!!” I had always assumed they were a couple of hundred £’s maybe three at the most. That’s the value I ascribed to a phone in my mind, but over £1000 for a phone? I’ve been going through quite a few surprises like that lately. I’m thinking how I would gladly love to have him celebrate with me today and to receive any one of any type of present from him. I am writing this to remind everyone to cherish every moment you have with your loved one, even the annoying ones. Remember everything is done in love, it may be deep deep down, and you may not understand it in the moment, but it truly is.
Whenever we quarrelled he would always end it with ” Helen I love you, I will always love you, I’m with you, that’s all that matters. It takes death to realise that truly, that’s all that matters’ she wrote.
Before death played its card in May 2020, Dr. Tosin Ajayi was the husband and sweetheart of Nigerian lawyer, writer and former beauty queen, Helen Prest-Ajayi. By all accounts, theirs was a happy and fulfilling match and fellowship.
Reports said Dr. Ajayi had been sick for a while before he finally succumbed to death.
Until his death, Ajayi was an honourable, diligent and affable man. Although trained in the medical profession at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, and bearing a Master’s of Science in Cardiology from the National Heart and Lung Institute, (NHLI) Imperial College, University of London, Dr. Ajayi had a catholic personality.
Ajayi will be remembered for more than his scalpel and stethoscope. His Foundation alone, the Africa Future, testifies to this fact. The most recent campaign on this front was launched on October the 1st, 2019. This campaign was the culmination and result of his desire to see women and new-born babies properly catered for in terms of nutrition and nourishment.
Ajayi has impacted more lives than is registered in hospital records. He is behind the introduction and use of Teleradiology (the transmission of radiological patient images, such as x-rays, for sharing and further studies) in Nigeria. Besides, countless projects in information technology, health reforms and capacity building – as they are related to healthcare – are to his credit.