Bility Mourns Deelay’s Passing-Recalls elder who restored memories

MONROVIA – Musa Hassan Bility’s farewell to Deelay is a story of grief, memory and elders who preserve a community’s shared Liberian history. Through Deelay’s recollections, Bility renewed his connection to his late mother. He had also spent nearly 30 years away from his hometown. Her counsel carried a political lesson: electoral opposition must never become a reason for revenge. That moral warning now survives her. Bility’s tribute matters beyond one family because it records the quiet authority elders exercise through memory, advice and moral example. His loss is therefore deeply personal, painful and communal. As Deelay is laid to rest, her stories leave Bility with gratitude, loneliness and an obligation to live by her enduring words. THE ANALYST reports.

Musa Hassan Bility has mourned the death of an elderly woman affectionately known as Deelay, describing her as a treasured link to his late mother and a source of counsel that shaped his personal and political conduct. In a deeply emotional tribute titled, “Goodbye, Deelay. Until We Meet Again,” Bility reflected on the stories, advice and affection she shared with him during his visits to Nimba County.

Bility disclosed that around 2019 and 2020, he began returning home more frequently after spending nearly 30 years disconnected from his hometown and many of the communities that shaped his childhood.

He explained that returning home was not simply about going back to a familiar place but about reconnecting with his mother through the people who knew her.

He began retracing her footsteps by traveling through towns and villages, meeting people who had known her and listening to their stories. According to Bility, every person who remembered his mother gave him a small part of her back.

A Granddaughter Opens Door

Bility identified Yar White, Deelay’s granddaughter, as one of the strongest and most committed people with whom he worked. He recalled that White approached him one day with information that would lead to his first meeting with her grandmother.

“Mr. B, my grandmother is always talking about you. She says she knew your mother very well,” White told him. Bility recalled responding immediately: “Let us go and see her.”

From the moment he met Deelay, Bility stated, she became more than an elder to him. She sat him down and began telling him stories about his mother, remembering her clearly and speaking about her with such warmth and affection that he felt, for those precious moments, as though his mother had returned and was sitting directly before him.

Apart from one other elder who had also died, Bility stated that he had never met anyone who knew so much about his mother. Every time he returned to Nimba and visited Deelay, he felt as though he was seeing his mother again.

According to Bility, Deelay’s presence made him long for home and gave him a reason to keep returning. Whenever he entered her living room, she would eventually take him into her bedroom, sit him down and advise him.

Those private conversations became some of the most treasured moments of his life, Bility reflected. Through those encounters, Deelay gave him access to memories and guidance that he believed were connected to his mother.

Counsel Against Political Revenge

Bility recalled that before the election, Deelay gave him advice that he would carry for the rest of his life. Her counsel addressed political opposition, victory and the temptation to seek revenge against people who had refused to support him.

She told him: “Some people in this town may not vote for you, but you will win the election. When you win, never make them feel that you hold anything against them. Your future will be yours either to build or to destroy. Promise me that you will never seek revenge against anyone simply because they opposed you.”

Bility observed that the two elders closest to his mother, both of whom reminded him strongly of her, gave him the same advice. He stated that he has tried to live by those words every day.

“When I meet people who opposed me yesterday, I remember Deelay’s counsel,” Bility wrote. He added that God gives him strength and keeps his heart free from hatred, bitterness and the desire for revenge.

Bility attributed that lesson directly to Deelay and, through her, to his late mother. He presented her counsel as a moral obligation that continues to influence how he responds to political and personal opposition.

Family Preserved Deelay’s Dignity

Bility also honored Deelay’s family for the care and dignity they gave her during her lifetime. He stated that they loved her and cared for her beautifully, ensuring that she was always clean, comfortable and surrounded by dignity.

“She was never neglected. She was treasured, protected, and cared for as an elder should be,” Bility wrote. He expressed profound pride in her family for the love they gave her until the end of her life.

His tribute portrayed the family’s treatment of Deelay as an example of the care elderly people deserve. Bility described their devotion as an important part of the dignity and comfort that surrounded her during her final years.

Loss Reopens Earlier Grief

Bility stated that Deelay’s passing had taken something irreplaceable from him. As the people who personally knew his mother continue to leave the world, he explained, his journey through life becomes lonelier.

“With Deelay’s passing, I feel as though another living part of my mother has disappeared,” he wrote. “In many ways, I am losing my mother for a second time.”

Bility reflected on the pain of laying Deelay to rest and walking away with the knowledge that he would never again enter her living room, follow her into her bedroom, sit beside her and listen to her counsel. He described his heart as unbearably heavy under the weight of that final separation.

Despite the grief, Bility stated that he believes Deelay has reached her place of rest and that her spirit will continue to watch over, guide and strengthen him. He described her life as a reminder of where he comes from and of the strength and perseverance of the people of Nimba County.

According to Bility, Deelay represented the enduring spirit of Nimba—a spirit that may be tested but will never be broken. Her home, embrace, comfort and the few precious minutes she gave him during each visit meant more than he could adequately explain.

A Final Grateful Farewell

Bility thanked Deelay for every story, word of counsel, embrace and reassuring pat on his back. Above everything else, he expressed gratitude to her for giving his mother back to him whenever he sat beside her.

“Life must go on, even when the heart is not ready,” Bility wrote. “Today, I must let you go, but I will never let go of your memory.”

He closed the tribute with a brief farewell that captured both the finality of her passing and his belief that their separation would not be permanent. “Goodbye, Deelay. Until we meet again,” Bility declared.