Tekestebrhan Amine G. Meskel

In Memory of Tekestebrhan Amine G. Meskel

November 19,1949 – March 6, 2025

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Tekestebrhan G. Meskel, lovingly known as Amine to all who knew and cherished him. He departed this life on March 6, 2025, at Johnson City Medical Center.

Born on November 19, 1949, in Eritrea to the late Amine G. Meskel and Birkti Haile, he lived a life marked by resilience, dedication, and unwavering love for his family and community.

Amine's early years were spent in Eritrea, where he attended both elementary and high school. His passion for public health and service led him to Haile Selassie 1st Public Health College in Gondar, Ethiopia, where he graduated in July 1970 with an Advanced Diploma in Sanitary Science.

From 1971 to 1985, Amine worked as Head of the Environmental Health Section at both county and regional levels under the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia. During this time, he played a crucial role in public health initiatives, including malaria eradication programs, clean water projects, and other community health efforts.

In 1985, he took on a new role within the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia as an Environmental Health Specialist, continuing his impactful work in improving public health systems, ensuring better sanitary conditions, and advocating for stronger environmental health policies across the country.

During his tenure with the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia, Amine actively participated in numerous conferences, seminars, workshops, and training programs organized both locally and internationally. These experiences helped him refine his expertise in environmental health and public health policy.

In 1986, he attended an international seminar organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Bangkok, Thailand, which focused on the technical and socio-economic aspects of rural water and sanitation. His participation in such programs demonstrated his dedication to improving public health infrastructure in Ethiopia and beyond.

In 1991, Amine received a prestigious scholarship from the World Health Organization (WHO) to further his education. The following year, in 1992, he moved to the United States and enrolled at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health in 1994, followed by a Master’s degree in Environmental Health in 1996.

During his studies at ETSU, Amine received several academic certificates and awards in recognition of his outstanding achievements. His dedication to learning and excellence in environmental health earned him respect among his peers and professors.

He also participated in several field experiences outside the classroom in Nashville, Knoxville, and Atlanta, gaining practical experience with major organizations such as: - Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

- Oak Ridge Health Section

- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

These experiences strengthened his expertise and prepared him for a career dedicated to environmental health and public service.

After graduating in 1996, Amine spent time traveling in Germany and the Netherlands before returning to Ethiopia to reunite with his beloved wife, Amelework, their daughter, Mimi, and his extended family. Upon his return, he worked for the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia as an expert in Quality Control, Industrial Hygiene, and Environmental Health. His contributions in these areas helped improve workplace safety, hygiene standards, and environmental policies in Ethiopia.

After working in Ethiopia for three years, Amine received an opportunity to relocate to the United States permanently.

In late 1999 or early 2000, Amine moved to East Tennessee, making Johnson City his permanent home. He worked in various jobs before venturing into entrepreneurship. In summer 2000, he opened his first convenience store, laying the foundation for his business success. After four years of separation, his dear wife, Amelework, and daughter Mimi, joined him in the U.S. in January 2004, reuniting their family.

With determination and hard work, Amine expanded his business, opening two additional stores in 2006 and 2008. His entrepreneurial spirit, strong work ethic, and commitment to providing for his family made him a respected member of his community.

Amine will be remembered for his kindness, perseverance, and deep love for his family. He was a devoted husband, father, and friend whose legacy of hard work and generosity will live on in the lives of those he touched.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 50 years, Amelework, his daughter, Mimi, and many cherished family members and friends.

Funeral Service Details

**The funeral service will be livestreamed, but due to equipment limitations at the remote location, audio may be affected. We appreciate your patience and understanding.**

📅 Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025

Church Service:

⏰ Time:9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

📍 Location: Debrekidusan Abune Aregawi EOTC

📌Address: 6395 Little River Turnpike, Alexandria, VA 22312

👤 Officiant: Abba Michael Tesema

Burial Service:

⏰ Time: 2:00 PM

📍 Location: Fairfax Memorial Park

📌Address: 4401 Burke Station Road, Fairfax, VA 22032

Lunch Reception:

Following the funeral service, a lunch gathering will be held at Debrekidusan Abune Aregawi EOTC

(same location as the church service).

📌Address: 6395 Little River Turnpike, Alexandria, VA 22312

His memory will forever be a blessing, and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

May he rest in eternal peace.

In Memory of Tekestebrhan Amine G. Meskel

November 19,1949 – March 6, 2025

ህዳር 19 ፡ 1949 -መጋቢት 6 2025

አቶ ተከስተብርሃን አሜን ገ/መስቀል ከአባታቸው ከአቶ አሜን ገ/መስቀል እና ከእናታቸው ከወ/ሮ ብርክቲ ኃይሌ እ.ኤ.አ ህዳር

19,1949 በኤርትራ ተወለዱ ።

አቶ ተከስተብርሀን የመጀመሪያና የሁለተኛ ደረጃ ትምህርታቸውን በትውልድ አገራቸው ኤርትራ ያጠናቀቁ ሲሆን፤ በጤናው

ዘርፍ ህዝባችውን ለማገልገል በነበራቸው ብርቱ ፍላጎት ጎንደር በሚገኘው የቀድሞው ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ 1ኛ የሕብረተሰብ

ጤና ኮሌጅ በመማር በሐምሌ 1970 በንፅህና ሳይንስ ከፍተኛ ዲፕሎማ ተመርቀዋል።

አቶ ተከስተብርሀን በ1971 በኢትዮጵያ ጤና ጥበቃ ሚኒስቴር ውስጥ ተቀጥረው እስከ 1985 ያገለገሉ ሲሆን፡ በነዚህ

ያገልግሎት አመታት ውስጥም በወረዳ በአውራጃና በክልል የአካባቢ ጤና ክፍል ኃላፊ በመሆን ሰርቷዋል። በስራ ላይ ይ

በነበሩባቸው አመታት ውስጥ በተለይ ወባን ለማጥፋት እና የንፁህ ውሃን ለህብረተሰቡ ለማዳረስ እየተካሄዱ በነበሩት

ፕሮግራሞችና ፕሮጀክቶች ላይ ያሳዩት የስራ ትጋት ሊጠቀሱ ከሚገባችው ውስጥ ተጠቃሾች ናቸው።

ከዚህም በተጨማሪ እ.ኤ.አ. በ 1985 በኢትዮጵያ ጤና ጥበቃ ሚኒስቴር በተሰጣቸው አዲስ የስራ ሀላፊነት ፤ የህዝብ ጤና

ስርዓቶችን በማሻሻል ፣ የተሻለ የንፅህና አጠባበቅ ሁኔታዎችን በማረጋገጥ እና በመላ ሀገሪቱ ጠንካራ የአካባቢ ጤና ፖሊሲዎችን

በማበረታታት ውጤታማ ተግባር ፈጽመዋል።

አቶ ተከስተብርሀን በኢትዮጵያ ጤና ጥበቃ ሚኒስቴር ውስጥ በነበሩበት ወቅት በአገር ውስጥም ሆነ በዓለም አቀፍ ደረጃ

በተዘጋጁ በርካታ ኮንፈረንሶች፣ ሴሚናሮች፣ አውደ ጥናቶች እና የስልጠና ፕሮግራሞች ላይ በንቃት ተሳትፏል። እነዚህ

ተሞክሮዎች በአካባቢ ጤና እና በሕዝብ ጤና ፖሊሲ ላይ ያለቸውን እውቀት እንዲያሻሽሉ ረድተዋቸዋል።

እ.ኤ.አ. በ 1986 በአለም ጤና ድርጅት በባንኮክ ታይላንድ በተዘጋጀው ዓለም አቀፍ ሴሚናር ላይና በሌሎች መሰል መርሃ

ግብሮች ላይ መሳተፍ በኢትዮጵያ ህብረተሰብ ጤና መሠረተ ልማት ማሻሻያ ፕሮግራሞች ተግባራዊነት ላይ የነበራቸውን

ቁርጠኝነት አሳይቷል።

እ.ኤ.አ. በ1991 ከዓለም ጤና ድርጅት (WHO) የነፃ ትምህርት ዕድል ያገኙት አቶ ተከስተብርሃን በቀጣዩ ዓመት ማለትም

በ1992 በምስራቅ ቴነሲ ስቴት ዩኒቨርሲቲ (ETSU) የከፍተኛ ትምህርታቸውን መከታተል ጀመሩ። በትምህርታቸው ጠንክረው

በመግፋት በ1994 የባችለር ዲግሪያቸውን በአካባቢ ጤና ፣ በመቀጠልም በ1996 በአካባቢ ጤና የማስተርስ ዲግሪያቸውን

አግኝተዋል። በ ETSU ትምህርታቸውን ባጠናቀቁበት ወቅት ላስመዘገቡት የላቀ ውጤት በርካታ የአካዳሚክ ሰርተፍኬቶችን

እና ሽልማቶችን ከማግኘታቸውም በተጨማሪ ከፕሮፌሰሮቻችውና የትምህርት ጓደኞቻቸው ዘንድ ክብርን አስገኝቶላቸዋል።

አቶ ተከስተብርሃን በናሽቪል፣ ኖክስቪል እና አትላንታ ከክፍል ውጪ ባሉ በርካታ የመስክ ልምዶች ላይ ተሳትፈዋል፣ ከዚህም

በተጨማሪ፤ ከ

- Oak Ridge Health Section

- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

ከመሳሰሉት ዋና ዋና ድርጅቶች ጋር ተግባራዊ ልምድ በማግኘት በቴነሲ ቫሊ ባለስልጣን (ቲቪኤ)

ለሰጡት ለአካባቢ ጤና እና ለህዝብ አገልግሎት ሙያ አዘጋጅተዋቸዋል።

ከ1996 ዓ.ም ምረቃ በኋላ በጀርመን እና ኔዘርላንድስ በኩል ወደ ሀገራቸው በመመለስ ከባለቤታቸው ወይዘሮ አመለወርቅ፣

ከልጃቸው ከሚሚ እና ከዘመድ ቤተሰቦቹ ጋር ለመገናኘት የበቁት አቶ ተከስተብርሀን በኢትዮጵያ ጤና ጥበቃ ሚኒስቴር የጥራት

ቁጥጥር፣ የኢንዱስትሪ ንጽህና እና የአካባቢ ጤና ኤክስፐርት በመሆን ሰርተዋል። በነዚህ ዘርፎች ያበረከቷቸው አስተዋፅኦዎች

በርካታ ሲሆኑ፤ በተለይም በኢትዮጵያ የስራ ቦታ ደህንነትን፣ የንፅህና አጠባበቅ ደረጃዎችን እና የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ፖሊሲዎችን

ለማሻሻል በተደረጉ ተግባራት ውስጥ ጉልህ ስፍራ አሏቸው።

አቶ ተከስተብርሀን ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ለሦስት ዓመታት ከሠሩ በኋላ በቋሚነት ወደ አሜሪካ የመዛወር ዕድል በማግኘታቸው

እ.ኤ.አ. በ2000 መጀመሪያ ላይ ጆንሰን ሲቲ ከተማን ቋሚ መኖሪያቸው በማድረግ ወደ ምስራቅ ቴነሲ ተዛወሩ። በዚሁ

የመኖርያ አካባቢያቸው አንዳንድ ስራዎችን ከሰሩ በኋላ በ 2000 የበጋ ወቅት, ለንግድ ስራቸው ስኬት መሰረት የመጀመሪያውን

ኮንቪንየት ስቶር ከፍተዋል.። ከአራት አመታት መለያየት በኋላም፣ ውድ ባለቤታቸውን ወ/ሮ አመለወርቅ እና ሴት ልጃቸውን

ሚሚ በጃንዋሪ 2004 አሜሪካን በማስመጣት ቤተሰባቸውን ለመገናኘት በቅተዋል።

በስራ ትጋታቸው የተመሰከረላቸው አቶ ተከስተብርሃን ንግዳቸውን በማስፋፋት በ2006 እና 2008 ተጨማሪ ሁለት ሱቆችን

ከፍተዋል። በአካባቢው ማህበረሰብ ዘንድ በደግነታቸው፤ በታታሪነታቸው፤ በጽናታቸውና የስራ ፈጠራቸው ታዋቂና አክብሮት

የነበራቸው አቶ ተከስተበርሃን ለቤተሰባቸው ባላቸው ልዩ ፍቅር ህያው ምስክር ነበሩ።

ለ50 አመታት ባስቆጠረው ትዳራቸው ከተወዳጅ ባለቤታቸው ወይዘሮ አመለወርቅ፣ ሴት ልጃቸው ሚሚ እና ብዙ ተወዳጅ

የቤተሰብ አባላትና ወዳጆችን አፍርተዋል።

የእርሳቸው ትውስታ በልባቸን ውስጥ ለዘላለም ይኖራል, እና እሱን የሚያውቁት ሁሉ በጣም ይናፍቁታል.

አምላክ በዘላለም ሰላም ያሳርፈቸው።

Funeral Service Details

📅 Date:Saturday, March 15, 2025

Church Service:

⏰ Time:9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

📍 Location:Debrekidusan Abune Aregawi EOTC

📌Address:6395 Little River Turnpike, Alexandria, VA 22312

👤 Officiant:Abba Michael Tesema

Burial Service:

⏰ Time: 2:00 PM

📍 Location:Fairfax Memorial Park

📌Address: 4401 Burke Station Road, Fairfax, VA 22032

Lunch Reception:

Following the funeral service, a lunch gathering will be held at Debrekidusan Abune Aregawi EOTC

(same location as the church service).

📌Address: 6395 Little River Turnpike, Alexandria, VA 22312

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Memories and condolences maybe shared with the family via www.morrisbaker.com

Morris-Baker Funeral Home, 2001 E Oakland Ave, Johnson City, Tennessee, is honored to serve the Gebremeskel family. (423) 282-1521