Muthoni Nduthu.
Credit: Family
The Christmas meal was already waiting in the refrigerator at home.
Muthoni Nduthu planned to serve it to the family she would visit for a Christmas trip.
But the 52-year-old registered nurse never made it to the family Christmas celebration to cook the meal.
Last Tuesday afternoon, just hours before she was set to finish her final shift at the Silver Lake Nursing Home and Bristol Health and Rehab Center and depart for a family trip to North Carolina, Nduthu was killed in an explosion that tore through the facility. It also killed a resident, who has not yet been named.
Nduthu, a grandmother and devout Catholic who immigrated from Kenya in 2004, had worked at the Bristol Township facility for about a year.
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While early reports identified her as a certified nursing assistant, Pennsylvania licensing records show she had been a registered nurse since 2017.
Nduthu’s eldest son, Clinton Ndegwa, 30, told the New York Times that his mother was preparing a Kenyan feast for the holiday trip, including beef pilau and mahamri, a traditional pastry.
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“We’re immigrant kids, first generation,” Ndegwa told the newspaper. “She worked to try to provide for her family. She liked serving people. She took pride in that.”
Ndegwa said his younger brothers called him to report an explosion at the nursing home next to Lower Bucks County and noted that their mother was not answering calls.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The family waited at the hospital until 8:30 p.m. before being notified of her death, according to reports.
Ndegwa told the New York Times he never got the chance to give her his Christmas gift – a Coach bag.
Nduthu’s path to the American dream started when she came to the country from Kenya years ago.
In 2013, she worked with nonprofit Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County to build and purchase a home in Bristol Township for herself and her three sons.
At the time, she balanced a full-time job and nursing school with the “sweat equity” hours required to build the house.
“This is not a giveaway program,” Nduthu said during her 2013 home dedication on Watson Avenue. “You have to work so hard, and I hope that everyone realizes the work that Habitat does and what it means to so many people.”
Florence Kawoczka, CEO of Habitat Bucks County, told USA Today that Nduthu’s children were her primary motivation.
“She worked so hard to be a homeowner so she could have a better life for her children,” Kawoczka said.
Rose Muema, a close friend, spoke to the suddenness of the tragedy, noting that Nduthu had already prepared food for the family’s holiday meal.
“The chicken is still in the fridge,” Muema said to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We don’t know what to do. We just look at it.”
In Kenya, news outlets, including The Daily Nation and Tuko, described Nduthu as a compassionate professional whose kindness, professionalism, and selfless service touched countless lives.
Nduthu’s sister, Petronilla Wanjugu Nduthu, wrote in a social media statement that the family is grieving.
“This festive season we are heartbroken. A good soul has rested. May her soul rest in eternal peace.”
A GoFundMe account established to assist the family with funeral expenses had raised more than $30,000 as of Monday.
Support has also come from the Harry S. Truman High School football community, which one of Nduthu’s sons is a member of.
Nduthu is survived by her husband, three sons – ages 18, 24, and 30 – and a grandchild.
Dining and Cooking