Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Veteran journalist Alan Immensely Ah Mu, known as Li’o Fa’avaivaiomanū, was laid to rest in Samoa after his body was returned from New Zealand for a family service honoring his life and connection to his people. Ah Mu, 68, died peacefully at his home in New Zealand on Sept. 24, 2026, surrounded by family.

His final journey in Samoa was marked by a police escort, as family members carried his coffin from the family residence, along the roads associated with the Ah Mu family, to Lotopa Cemetery, where he was buried. Family, relatives and friends gathered to farewell a man whose life connected Samoa and New Zealand.

Ah Mu spent a significant part of his 30-year journalism career as a senior reporter and writer for the Samoa Observer, where he became known for his reporting and writing.

He was remembered in tributes as a quiet, intelligent and gentle man who made a lasting impression on those around him.

“Such a wise and calm gentle man,” Si'alei van Toor wrote in a tribute.

His longtime friend Savea Alphonso Solia remembered Ah Mu from their teenage years in Wellington, describing his “quiet voice, cheeky smile & gentle nature.”

“I can truly say you didn't have one mean bone in your body, a rare quality these days,” Solia wrote.

Cousin Elizabeth Dunn described him as having a “quiet, calm presence with intelligent, mischievous eyes” and said he “spoke quietly but with purpose.”

His sister Vala'auina Ah Mu wrote that her brother “moved through life softly, never needing to be the loudest voice in the room.”

“Your quietness was your strength,” she wrote, describing him as a calm presence who brought comfort, loyalty and love to his family.

Ah Mu was the beloved partner of Sui Tiafau Lavea and a much-loved father to Tipesa, Talitonu, Palepa and Vaifou. He was also deeply loved by extended family in Samoa and New Zealand.

His funeral service in New Zealand was held Sept. 29 at Cockburn Street Chapel in Kilbirnie, Wellington.

In Samoa, his final journey brought family and community together to farewell a journalist, father, partner and son of Samoa whose quiet presence and work in journalism will be remembered.