November 20, 2016 Our Sweet Tutu Lady passed beyond the veil to be reunited with her beloved husband, Henry Sr.
Her funeral was held on November 28th at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Carson, Calif. She was laid to rest next to Papa at Green Hills in Southern California. Below you can view her life via pictures put together by her grand-daughter Rochelle Ikeda.
"Shirley F. Mataalii, my Grandmother, passed away yesterday in her home, very peacefully. Shirley was an amazing woman and lived what she believed, just as her husband did. I will forever be indebted to her for all she has done for me and taught me, not out of a book - but through decades of consistent example. Tutu was a true possessor of the Aloha spirit, she loved everyone and could make anyone feel welcome and a part of our family. I will deeply miss: watching old movies and Jiu Jitsu matches with her, late into the night. I will miss our family nerf gun wars (Tutu and I would take on Sandra and the girls and usually lose), going to Church together and most of all hearing her laughter, which was magical. It's raining in Lomita today and it is a fitting memorial to the impact this unique woman had on any space she ever occupied. I Love you Tutu Lady, 'til we meet again, and I know we will. No es adios, es hasta luego."
- Morgan Sa F. Mataalii
Her funeral was held on November 28th at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Carson, Calif. She was laid to rest next to Papa at Green Hills in Southern California. Below you can view her life via pictures put together by her grand-daughter Rochelle Ikeda.
"Shirley F. Mataalii, my Grandmother, passed away yesterday in her home, very peacefully. Shirley was an amazing woman and lived what she believed, just as her husband did. I will forever be indebted to her for all she has done for me and taught me, not out of a book - but through decades of consistent example. Tutu was a true possessor of the Aloha spirit, she loved everyone and could make anyone feel welcome and a part of our family. I will deeply miss: watching old movies and Jiu Jitsu matches with her, late into the night. I will miss our family nerf gun wars (Tutu and I would take on Sandra and the girls and usually lose), going to Church together and most of all hearing her laughter, which was magical. It's raining in Lomita today and it is a fitting memorial to the impact this unique woman had on any space she ever occupied. I Love you Tutu Lady, 'til we meet again, and I know we will. No es adios, es hasta luego."
- Morgan Sa F. Mataalii
The following is a video that was put together by the Samoan Achievers International honoring Henry Mataalii Sr. for his service to his community, his people, his professional affiliates, and his family.
Being a young boy … I knew my father worked long hours. He was a true believer of hard work to prove one's worth. I knew he left the house early in the morning and returned about 5pm. On Saturdays he worked till 12 noon, often times he would return to the shop later in the evening and change or turn off the furnace. Many times after dinner he would take us out for ice cream at Thrifty Drug store... 5 cents a scoop for an ice cream cone. Then on to the shop, where we watched him drive a forklift and change the furnace load … and or set the timer or shut the furnace down and let it cool down and secure the shop before we left. This activity was repeated again and again for many years....
Being the man in charge was my dad's element. It gave him the right to exercise leadership, to use judgment, to put into action research and development of lessons learned in engineering. He was always the first one in and the last one out, he felt you had to earned the right to be in any position attained through putting in your time... one of his favorite sayings were “money can never buy experience, you have to put your time in”. And that is the way he saw the work ethic, not only for himself but also for anyone who was worth their salt.
He was one of those men who never missed work, even if sick he still went to work and my mom would care for him when he got home. And without fail he would be up and at work the next day. I remember my dad missing only one day of work due to illness... and that was after being sick for a week... he finally was too sick to go work and missed a day.
My dad was a firm believer of, “you get what you earn” and “you never get something for nothing.” There are no free rides or free lunches in life … everything has its price and the debt is always paid in full, by you or someone else. - Henry Mataalii Jr. 2014
Being the man in charge was my dad's element. It gave him the right to exercise leadership, to use judgment, to put into action research and development of lessons learned in engineering. He was always the first one in and the last one out, he felt you had to earned the right to be in any position attained through putting in your time... one of his favorite sayings were “money can never buy experience, you have to put your time in”. And that is the way he saw the work ethic, not only for himself but also for anyone who was worth their salt.
He was one of those men who never missed work, even if sick he still went to work and my mom would care for him when he got home. And without fail he would be up and at work the next day. I remember my dad missing only one day of work due to illness... and that was after being sick for a week... he finally was too sick to go work and missed a day.
My dad was a firm believer of, “you get what you earn” and “you never get something for nothing.” There are no free rides or free lunches in life … everything has its price and the debt is always paid in full, by you or someone else. - Henry Mataalii Jr. 2014
Our neighbor Charlie
Our neighbor Charlie … had a herd of cattle up in the hills near by and whenever he went up to check on them I was lucky enough to ride along with him. One day he comes over and gives us a steer. We name him “Boy” and we kept him in a pen across the Kam highway. I remember walking around the under him and asking my mom what is that … and my mom would say get away from there... and soon “Boy” would pee.... lucky for me I listened to my mom. Later after we moved to the main land to California taking care of Boy fell to my dads younger brothers ...I'm guessing it was Uncle John and AL.... One day at the shop I asked AL whatever happened to “Boy” he said in the end “Boy” was butchered for a wedding … and that he could not bring himself to eat steak that day. - Henry Jr. |
Fishing with my mom
I remember back in Laie, Oahu, our house was out along the beach in the mornings my mom would go net fishing and she took me along. She would throw the net and catch little fish and later fry them up in the frying pan. Also while walking the shoreline every once in a while we found those Japanese floating glass balls. We would also dig for those little blue crabs. – Henry Jr. |
My Mom: if he calls you names punch him!!!
Oh somewhere in elementary school it's bound to happen to all of us as kids. Someone bullies you and calls you names, pushes you around, etc. It happened to me and I remember crying to my mom about it. Finally one day she told me, if that boy keeps doing this to you, punch him, and if you don't, when you get home I'm going to spank you!! Well it was just a matter of time and yeah you guessed it, I punched him... not once but three times. All body shots, as he was taller than me. Oh and did I mention he had a cast on his left hand. Of course I soon found myself in the school Principle’s office. And of course when my mom came ...all hell broke loose.. Those people in the school were soon introduced to “Fa’a Samoa” aka “the Samoan way”. Side note: I'm sure if all the other mom's in the family can relate to this. But if you know “Tutu” she's all about action. - Henry Jr. |