In Memory of Jesse Obuobi Guinn

Seonghwa

Mar 19

Spouse: Farris Guinn
Children: Gordon, Gladys, Julius
DOB: September 29, 1946
Blessing: October 4, 1982
Ascension: February 24, 2026
Seonghwa Ceremony: Mar 28, 2026 12:00 PM CT at the Brookside Funeral Home, 13747 Eastex Fwy, Houston, TX 77039

Jessie Guinn, 79, of Houston, Texas, passed away peacefully on February 24th, 2026.
Jessie was born on September 29th, 1946, in Ghana to her parents, Dumefoli Obuobi and Agnes Naafe Ghefo. She attended Peki High School and later completed vocational training in costume design and fashion at a vocational institute in Accra, Ghana.

In the early 1960s, Jessie relocated to Accra, Ghana, where she began her career as a secretary at a jewelry store. During this time, she met Mr. John Annan, whom she later married. Together they raised three children: Gordon, Julius (deceased), and Gladys.

In later years, Jessie and Mr. Annan divorced. She continued to grow her professional career in costume design and office administration. In the mid-1970s, Jessie joined the Unification Church of Ghana, a church founded in Korea with missionary branches throughout the world. Jessie became a devoted member and joined the church’s missionary group, helping to spread the word of God throughout the West African region.

Through this mission, Jessie traveled to several West African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Senegal, and Nigeria, sharing her faith and helping to expand the church’s presence. As the church’s West African missionary headquarters was located in Nigeria, Jessie relocated there to continue her missionary work.

In the early 1980s, Jessie remarried through the Unification Church’s Mass Marriage Ceremony held in Seoul, South Korea, where the church’s international headquarters is located. During this mission, she met Mr. Farris Guinn, an African American from Texas. Jessie and Farris were married in 1982, and in 1984, she joined him in Mobile, Alabama.

Together, Jessie and Farris served as missionaries for the Unification Church, traveling throughout the United States to share their faith with young Americans. In the late 1980s, they relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, where they settled and began working for a church-owned
business called Master Marine Gulf Fresh Tuna. Jessie worked as an office administrator, while Farris managed the cold storage facility.

In the late 1990s, when the church business relocated, Jessie started her own small business selling African arts, as well as women’s and men’s clothing at the French Quarter in New Orleans. She also worked part-time with a local costume design company.
During the 1990s, Jessie faced a significant health challenge when she was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, after treatment, she became cancer-free. Although she continued to live with some lasting side effects, she remained strong in spirit and faith.

In the early 2000s, after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Jessie relocated to Houston, Texas, where she moved in with her daughter, Gladys Lestah, who had immigrated to the United States in the early 1990s. In Houston, Jessie remained active in her church community and continued her missionary work while sharing her faith with others.
Jessie later took a position at Kohl’s department store, where she worked as a cashier and floor associate.

In 2006, she temporarily relocated to Chicago, Illinois, to help her son Gordon and daughter-in-law Beatrice care for their first son, Ethan. Jessie lived with them for about four years and lovingly helped raise her grandson.

After 2009, Jessie returned to Houston but continued to visit her Chicago family often. She remained employed at Kohl’s until retiring at the age of 69.

In her later years, Jessie faced several health challenges, including hypertension and arthritis affecting her back, legs, and hands. In her early seventies, she suffered a mild pulmonary hypertension-related cardiac episode that required emergency care. She was later diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and began treatment.

After her 79th birthday, Jessie’s neurosurgeon recommended cervical fusion surgery to help relieve the severe pain in her hands and strengthen her upper body. She underwent two surgeries, but unfortunately, she was never able to return home. Over the following four months, she moved between rehabilitation centers and hospitals as doctors worked to improve her condition.

Despite every effort, Jessie passed away on February 24th, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., surrounded by care and love from her Family and team of Doctors.

Jessie will be remembered for her deep faith, her dedication to family, her missionary spirit, and her resilience throughout life’s challenges.
May her soul forever rest in perfect peace.
Jessie is survived by her children, Gordon Annan, and Gladys Lestah, along with her Grandchildren, Alleycia Munghor, Acacia Lestah, Ethan Annan, Andrew Annan, and Great Grandchildren, Kyden Nixon, Abbigayle and Allyora Angel.