Minneapolis memorial set for man who died of Ebola

Patrick and Decontee Sawyer
Patrick Sawyer and his wife, Decontee, in 2008. Patrick died of Ebola July 2014.
Courtesy of Decontee Sawyer

A memorial service will be held next month in Minneapolis for a Liberian government official who died of Ebola.

Patrick Sawyer died last month from the disease after traveling from Liberia to Nigeria.

• Earlier: Man with Minnesota ties dies from Ebola in Nigeria

Sawyer was a former Minnesota resident and naturalized American whose wife and children still live in suburban Minneapolis.

His wife, Decontee Sawyer, says a memorial service will be held Sept. 27 at the Brookdale Christian Center. Afterward, she says they will hold a program to bring awareness to the disease and raise money for their fight against it.

She says representatives from Samaritan's Purse missionary group and Global Health Ministries will also be there.

• Related: U.S. warns against traveling to Ebola-hit countries

Sawyer's sister also died of Ebola in Liberia. Ebola is highly contagious and kills more than 70 percent of people infected.