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Former First Lady “Faga” Sunia, passes away

She’ll always be remembered by her heartfelt gratitude towards the people of American Samoa, say members of the public who knew Lefagaoali’i Satele-Sunia who passed away suddenly over the weekend. She was 69 years old.

 

According to Lia’ivasa Andrew Sunia, one of the sons of Lefagaoali’i and her late husband, former Governor Tauese Pita F Sunia, said his mother was an inspiration to them and she loved her children wholeheartedly.

 

“We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from her during her 69 years,” he said. He went on to say that their mother proved that she was a unique individual with amazing commitment and focus, mainly on the services she provided for the church.

 

“She was an amazing mother and never let her various vocations inhibit her willingness to speak out against injustice. Her life and work trumpet the importance of love, tolerance and forgiveness,” said Lia’ivasa.

 

Lefagaoali’i is the mother of eight with 20 grandchildren, many of them named after her. She was a committed member of the Leone CCCAS where she and Tauese were deacons. Lia’ivasa told Samoa News that one of the highlights of her life was her service to the Lord through her church.

 

She is the daughter of the late Alo o Salamasina Satele Mosegi and Mata’ia Avaiu Mauigoa - Satele of Vailoatai. She initially attended school here in the territory and then moved on to attend Waipahu High School in Hawai’i. Her first job was working for the Office of Communications back when it was a Department of the American Samoa Government. Not long after that she entered into nursing school and successfully passed her courses, to become a nurse working at the LBJ hospital.

 

Lefagaoali’i married Tauese in 1969 and they returned to the territory in 1981 and resided in Leone. While working in office as First Lady, she established the “Read to Me” program, along with “Character Counts” and Americorp “Fausia se Laumana’i Mautu”.

 

She later established the Governor Sunia Memorial in Fogagogo, which is a tourist attraction that showcases artifacts which the couple collected during their time as the First family of American Samoa for over seven years.

 

Former Governor Tauese served in office for seven years from 1996, and died during his second term, on March 26, 2003, while on a flight to Hawai’i to receive medical treatment, becoming the second governor of American Samoa to die in office.