Isaac Newton

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Teacher & Scout

INA

ISAAC NEWTON ADDY

Isaac Newton Addy was born in keta ,in the Volta region on the 4th of June 1938 to Thomas Alton Addy of blessed memory and Victoria Betty Agbotui. His mother moved to Adabraka in Accra where young Isaac begun his education at the Roman Catholic primary school with his other siblings. He was cherished as a Catholic at the Holy Spirit Cathedral.

After completing his middle school education from the same Catholic school, Isaac went to O'Reilly Secondary school . His mother advised him to go to Mount Mary Teacher Training College after secondary school. Isaac however,decided to become a pupil teacher instead at Ayikai Doblo and later taught at Newton Experimental School. Isaac kept a promise he made to his aunt by using his first salary to buy a gift for her.

This is an attribute he developed at a tender age as a scout .” A Scout can be trusted “.

Isaac was a man who was never intimidated by life’s challenges and he never hesitated to counsel the young men and women he mentored,to believe that every obstacle was surmountable. After teaching for a few years and with some few set backs; Isaac left the classroom for the Volta River Authority during the construction of the Akosombo Dam . He was part of the team that worked on the construction of new settlements for the people of Yeji, Kete Krachi,and the Anum area who were going to be displaced by the construction of the Volta River.
Isaac was often joined by his younger brother , Jerry John during his school vacation where Isaac introduced his brother to those parts of the country . Isaac subsequently moved to VALCO in Tema where all noticed his dedication to hard work . His number at VALCO was 327 ,and he was always proud to say he was among the first batch of personnel to be employed at VALCO. Whilst at VALCO he furthered his education by pursuing some courses at GIMPA. During the late 50’s right into the late 60’s when Tema was well known for its entertainment and social lifestyle, he was king of Ballroom dancing and won many competitions and accolades. Isaac’s life long dedication and commitment to duty glittered right from his days as a young scout. As his brother puts it, scouting and teaching were his strongest passions”. He rose through the ranks from a Patrol leader to a Group leader. At the National level, he was an International Commissioner, a Deputy Chief Commissioner and then ultimately became the Chief Commissioner of Ghana. He served over 10 years as Chief Commissioner, making him the only person to have served that long. At the international level, he served two terms of 4 years each, as the President of the West Africa Scout Zone. At the time of his death, he was the Vice Chairman of the Africa Scout Foundation, and recently returned from a conference in Botswana, where he led the Ghana delegation. During his international scouting endeavours, Isaac, then a 20 year-old met Queen Elizabeth of England during a scouting jamboree in 1958.

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Amazing Years

Isaac was often joined by his younger brother , Jerry John during his school vacation where Isaac introduced his brother to those parts of the country . Isaac subsequently moved to VALCO in Tema where all noticed his dedication to hard work . His number at VALCO was 327 ,and he was always proud to say he was among the first batch of personnel to be employed at VALCO. Whilst at VALCO he furthered his education by pursuing some courses at GIMPA. During the late 50’s right into the late 60’s when Tema was well known for its entertainment and social lifestyle, he was king of Ballroom dancing and won many competitions and accolades. Isaac’s life long dedication and commitment to duty glittered right from his days as a young scout. As his brother puts it, scouting and teaching were his strongest passions”. He rose through the ranks from a Patrol leader to a Group leader. At the National level, he was an International Commissioner, a Deputy Chief Commissioner and then ultimately became the Chief Commissioner of Ghana. He served over 10 years as Chief Commissioner, making him the only person to have served that long. At the international level, he served two terms of 4 years each, as the President of the West Africa Scout Zone. At the time of his death, he was the Vice Chairman of the Africa Scout Foundation, and recently returned from a conference in Botswana, where he led the Ghana delegation. During his international scouting endeavours, Isaac, then a 20 year-old met Queen Elizabeth of England during a scouting jamboree in 1958.

Several years later, he migrated to England in 1975 While in London, Isaac studied works management and attended Bletchley college. He also studied at the Litchwork college where he qualified as an agricultural engineer. On Valentine’s day of 1976, he was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. During those days of the church’s history, blacks were not allowed to hold the priesthood, but that did not deter Isaac’s desire to serve. With his background as a teacher and the ability to captivate his audience whenever he led a class, Isaac was called as a Sunday school President. He later led the Teacher Development class among other calling. In 1978, when the church begun to ordain all worthy male members into the priesthood, Isaac was one of the first black Africans to be ordained into priesthood. Isaac married his wife in June 1978. He returned to Ghana in 1981 and immediately put his experience to use by training the priesthood stakeholders at the Latebiokoshie ward.

Memorial Mosaic

In 1989, when the government of Ghana stopped the church from operating, it was Isaac who faithfully kept all the assets of the church in his safe custody, arranging from church leaders and visitors to meet government officials while accompanying them through intense negotiations to resolve the issue. A few years later, due to his dedicated service , he was appointed as the Regional Manager of Temporal Affairs where he served for the next three years. In 1996, he was appointed the Real Estate Manager, and was instrumental in acquiring most of the church properties during his tenure. As an ex-commissioner of Ghana Scouts, his experience was sought after by the Government to serve as the technical advisor on a committee set up to probe scouting activities in the country.

He was also the Chairman of COCOAIDS, a collaboration of the six youth organizations in Ghana - Scouts, Girls Guides, Red Cross, YMCA, YWCA, Head of State Award Scheme - in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Isaac Newton Nii Addy was awarded the prestigious African Elephant award; the highest award in Scouting in Africa with less than 20 award winners, among which is Nelson Mandela. After his retirement from active service from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, he became the Board Chairman of Prestmecom Limited. He was also a consultant to the Happy Kids School. A position he held until his Heavenly father called him home. He really gave it his all when committed to a cause. On the 3rd of November 2014 he complained of a severe headache and was taken to 37 Military Hospital. After a review it was determined that he had a blood clot in his head and needed to be operated on. The surgery was successfully done and he was able to respond to family members and friends who visited him. However, on the morning of Saturday 9th November he slipped quietly into eternity. He left behind his beloved mother, his wife, 12 children and 25 grand children. A great man is different from an eminent one in that he is ready to be the servant of the society. Isaac Newton Nii Lante Addy served and served well, he was indeed a great man. A great man has indeed gone home.

In 1998, Isaac was interviewed in his oral history auto biography and was asked to bear his testimony. This is what he said, "I know the Church is true. I've been through ups and downs, but I can still tell you that the Church is true. I will not swap it for anything-never, ever. I was brought up in a religious home. I met the church, and I got closer to everything within the Church now than any other thing in my life. My life has changed. When I visit my brother, he points to me and says, 'that man, he doesn't drink. He doesn't smoke.' Or he calls me a 'preacher.' It's something I look forward to. Whenever I go to public functions, I am peculiar. And I love it. I want to be that way, all because of the Church. This Church has really changed me.

Isaac Newton Addy

Isaac Newton Addy