Emmanuel Oluwagbenga “Manny” Ulubiyo, 38, of Erskine, MN, passed away unexpectedly early Wednesday evening, September 1, 2021, in RiverHealth, Crookston.
Manny was born in Lagos, Nigeria on March 13, 1983, one of 4 children of the union of Johnson and Yetunde (Odutolu) Ulubiyo. He was educated at Remo Secondary School Sagamu. At the age of 17 Manny came to the United States to Providence, RI with his 2 brothers, Israel and Sam. There he attended Mount Pleasant High School before enlisting in the US Marine Corps. Manny served for 12 years with 2 deployments to Iraq and 2 deployments to Afghanistan. For his service to his country, he was awarded several medals, ribbons, and citations. During this time Manny was also able to attend Rhode Island College in Providence, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Following his honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, he continued to serve with the Marine Corps Reserve while entering St. John’s School of Law in Queens, NY. During his 1st year of study, Manny met and fell in love with a young lady, originally from Crookston, named Lexie Peterson and they began their life together. From St. John’s, the University his father had attended before him, Manny received his JD and shortly after was admitted to the Bar in the State of New York. Manny and Lexie then lived in Brooklyn where Manny was Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office. He and Lexie were united in marriage on June 30, 2015. As a volunteer he taught trial skills to law students at St. John’s as part of the Law Trial/Mock Advocacy Trial program, and also found time to coach a little league soccer team in Brooklyn for a few years. Next came a move to Buffalo, NY where Manny had accepted a position as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of New York, and then as an Assistant District Attorney in the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. In March of 2020 Manny, Lexie, and their 4 children came to the Erskine-Crookston area and Manny had been employed with the Polk County Attorney’s Office in Crookston to the present time.
Since he was a young child Manny was an avid reader. He also enjoyed watching tv and had recently discovered the joys of golfing with friends every Wednesday at Crookston’s Minakwa Golf Course, and deer hunting in the fall with his co-workers. He loved Lexie and their 4 children dearly and his passing will leave an empty place in their hearts forever. He will never be forgotten.
Manny is survived by Lexie, his beloved wife, and best friend; their 2 daughters and 2 sons: Adara Sincere (11), Neomiah Tunde (7), Moses Obasi (5), and Veora Jacleen (2); 7 siblings: Israel and Sam Ulubiyo of Providence, RI, Bolaji, Taiwo, and Kenny Odutolu of London, England, and Anna and Peter Ulubiyo of Atlanta, GA; his step-mother, Adepeju Adediran of Atlanta, GA; step-brother, Malik Adediran of New York City; parents-in-law, Jennifer and Jay Ross of Crookston; father-in-law, Tony Peterson of Humboldt, IA; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Maretta (Calvin) McMullen of Elm Grove, WI, Lucas Peterson (Bobbi Otti) of Danube, MN, and Malena Peterson and Jaelynn Ross of Crookston; as well as, many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and other relatives. He was preceded in death by his parents, Johnson and Yetunde Ulubiyo. Blessed be the memory of Emmanuel “Manny” Ulubiyo.
Manny’s life will be celebrated at a Funeral Service with Military Honors to be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, September 13, 2021, in the Stenshoel-Houske Funeral Home in Crookston. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service. The service will be live-streamed by logging on to www.stenshoelhouske.com and scrolling to the bottom of his obituary page to click on the prompt to view. A private graveside service will be held later at the Oakdale Cemetery, Crookston.
Online registry and messages of condolence may be made at www.stenshoelhouske.com
A Go Fund Me account has been established in Manny’s name https://gofund.me/b7b0b6a3
