F. KUAANA HOPELOA PASSED ON.

Mr. Editor of the Hoku o Hawaii;

Aloha oe:—O honorable one of the Hoku o Hawaii, please allow me an open space of our pride, for my dear husband who was greatly loved, my parent and companion of my body, my my companion to talk with in the cold dewy nights, my companion of our young days, my lei which I never removed in the famous land of Puna with the fragrant bowers of pandanus; in Puna dwells beauty and goodness, a dwelling visited always by fragrance and perfume. My dear kane has gone, gone too my desire, auwe my unending aloha for my man.

My dearly beloved husband was born from the loins of Hopeole (m) and Keliioniu (f) in the year 1876, at Opihikao, Puna, Hawaii, and she spent 39 years breathing of the air of hardship of this worldly life. Auwe, my endless regret for my dear husband. We were joined in the holy bond of matrimony on the 10th of October 1905 by the Father J. L. Kalawe, and we were married for 10 years and 1 month when he left me, the his wife and companion. Auwe the pain of my thoughts. He first became sick in the month of April until November when he left me, and the family, and our hanai children. The Doctor was called twice, but the ailment was beyond treatment, and loosened our loving bond at 2 o’clock in the morning, Thursday the 11th, when the rain came down with a clatter and the love-snatching wind blew with force, and the spirit of my husband glided silently away leaving behind his cold body for me to grieve after. Auwe, my dear kane. No more will I hear his loving voice calling out to me, “O Mama,” that is how he always called me until his last hour, and he spoke these words: “O Mama, I am leaving you; perhaps you will be cared for by our children, perhaps not.” Auwe, my grief for my dear kane, my companion in the works of the Lord. We were lovingly together in all places, from the Kanilehua rains of Hilo, to Waiohinu with its Haao rain, and so too Kona with its puffy clouds on the horizon of its calm seas and  the Kukalahale rain of Honolulu. Auwe my never ending remorse for my dear husband. Continue reading →