Funeral Service Live Stream:
Events
A viewing will take place on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 9:00am at the Glenmont United Methodist Church, located at 12901 Georgia Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20906.
The memorial service will take place on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 11:00am at the Glenmont United Methodist Church, located at 12901 Georgia Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20906. For those unable to attend the service in person, you can participate by viewing the live stream of the the service (please scroll up to see the video).
The interment will take place on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at the Gates of Heaven Cemetery, located at 13801 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20906 (following to the memorial service).
We are asking everyone to wear a mask and social distance.
Obituary
On October 13, 1938, Heaven sent an angel to us, Christiana Tolo Mensah, who was named after her mother. She was born in Buchana, Grand Bassa County to the union of Josiah and Christiana Mensah.
She began her early childhood education in Kakata, Liberia and later went to Dahomey, which is now the Republic of Benin for boarding school. At the completion of middle school, she returned to Liberia and enrolled at the Booker T. Washington Institute in Kakata. Her hard work, intelligence and good character were consistently portrayed in her studies. She graduated with honors from the Booker T. Washington Institute and matriculated to the University of Liberia. At the University of Liberia, she studied Math and Physics and later changed to Business Administration as she worked two jobs to finish school.
After graduating from the University of Liberia she got employment with the Department of Education and later married Mr. Milton Sarkor Birch, Sr. This union was blessed with five children, Clarence Birch, Joyce Birch Witherspoon, Milton Birch, Jr., Samuel Birch and Blossom Birch Baker. They also adopted some of their nieces and nephews (Florence, Blanche, Comfort, Tita, Jestina, Yata and Josiah). Christiana was very smart and took on extra jobs teaching and tutoring to help support her family. She had a quiet, but pleasant demeanor, and her interaction with anyone left a warm lasting impact. Her smile was beautiful and infectious. She showed up not to be seen, but always to serve. She was kind, sweet and respectful to everyone she met.
After couple of years at the Department of Education in Monrovia, Liberia, Christina matriculated to Chandler School for Women (now Boston College) in Boston, MA where she earned her master’s degree in Business Administration. She returned home to her family Liberia, and not long after, moved back to San Francisco, California with her then husband, Mr. Milton Sarcor Birch, Sr. who was awarded a scholarship to pursue a master’s in education at the San Francisco State University.
In San Francisco, Christina worked while her husband pursued his master’s. After her husband received his master’s, they both moved back to Liberia in 1969. Soon afterward, Christiana Tolo Mensah Birch was employed with the Liberian Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC). Her discipline and strong work ethics allowed her to be promoted to the position of administrative Manager. She maintained that position at LPRC until the war broke out in Liberia, in 1990, after which she and the rest of her family fled to the Ivory Coast.
In 1991, Christina and her family immigrated to the US and settled in the Rockville, MD along with the youngest of their children, Blossom Birch Baker. She worked in the health field at the Hebrew Home in Maryland and was a member of the Christian Baptist Church where she attended and served. After her husband passed away in 1999, she retired to spend more time with her grandchildren.
After ten years of being a widow Christiana met and married Cllr. S. Edgar Sie Badio on January 30, 2010. After their wedding, she moved to live with her husband in Brooklyn Park, MN. Shortly after she moved to Minnesota, she became a Member of the United Christian Fellowship Church in Minneapolis, joining her husband, Cllr. S. Edgar Sie Badio, a Deacon of the church. Her deep devotion and faith were apparent in all that she did. She was admired and respected by the members of the United Christian Fellowship Church, who saw her as the epitome of a devoted wife. She maintained her dignity and grace, consistently smiling and saying “thank you” no matter how small the act seemed.
Christiana Mensah Birch-Badio was a loving and devoted wife to her husband and a strong pillar of support. On occasions when he attended meetings after church, she would wait for him no matter how long the meetings lasted. She would often say, “I am waiting for my other half.” She always supported her husband.
The Badio family loved her because she showed her husband’s family deep love. She was caring, gentle and always put other’s before herself. She accompanied her husband to all his family events and fully participated when they were present in the area, whether in Monrovia where they would spend most winters or in the United States of America. To her husband’s children who affectionately called her “sweet sixteen”, she was a loving mother who, it seemed, had been a part of their lives for a long time.
On January 12, 2022, Heaven came knocking for the angel on loan to us. She passed very peacefully at their home in Minneapolis surrounded by her family.
Thank You From DMV Memorials
We had the distinct privilege of serving the Birch-Badio family on Saturday February 5, 2022 for the Celebration of Life Service of Christiana M. Birch-Badio at the Glenmont United Methodist Church in Silver Spring. Our staff was fully vaccinated (and boosted) and observed all COVID19 protocols mandated by Montgomery County, Maryland.
We’re focused on quality, compassion and community when we capture the final milestone.
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