Nigeria, Feb. 11 -- "Do you have a story?" Grandpa would ask anyone who visited him, testified his son-in-law, Sam Maduegbuna. He loved stories. If you rushed, he would ask you to slow down. If you didn't tell it well, he would say, "You don't know how to tell a story." For him, it was not enough to have a story; you had to know how to tell it well.

In October 2014, many people stood up in a chapel and told stories about him. His doctor. His daughter. The pastor of the church he attended when he visited America. Those he had known since childhood and whose progress he had followed throughout his life. His neighbors. And all the others in between.

As diverse as the group that paid tribute was, the impressions everyone had of his life wer...