I was so sad to hear she had died but happy she'd had a long, rich life and left such an exemplary legacy behind.
Below is an article published on the PCC website
Rest in Peace: Aunty Millie TeNgaio, 93, one of the Polynesian Cultural Center’s most beloved Maori kuia or tupuna — who along with her husband, the late Uncle Joe TeNgaio, were the first leaders of the PCC Maori Village from its opening in 1963 to 1968 — passed away peacefully on March 21, 2013, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where she had been living for the past 10 years with her son, Kingi TeNgaio, and family.
Aunty Millie (née Rogers), who was originally from Torere, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, met and fell in love with Uncle Joe while on school holiday in Nuhaka. In March 1938 the couple were among the first Maori to be sealed, along with their daughter, Elaine TeNgaio Marsh, in the Laie Hawaii Temple.
From 1954-58 they served as Latter-day Saint labor missionaries in Temple View, Hamilton, New Zealand, during the construction of the Church College of New Zealand and the New Zealand Temple. In June 1963 they were called to help open the Polynesian Cultural Center’s Maori Village. That same year they participated in the U.S. mainland promotional tour with Te Aroha Nui Maori, a group of former New Zealand labor missionaries and volunteers who helped put the finishing touches on the brand-new Polynesian Cultural Center.
After completing their PCC assignment, the couple moved to Honolulu where Uncle Joe operated his own taxi-tour business, while Aunty Millie taught kapa haka in her own studio, and later worked in the fashion industry in Waikiki. Many people might recognize Uncle Joe from his role as the counselor to Moke in the classic Latter-day Saint movie Johnny Lingo (filmed on location in Laie).
In the 1980s the couple also served as BYU-Hawaii dorm parents in Hale 2. He passed away in 1987, and after that she lived in the Kahuku retirement village, frequently attending events at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Kingi TeNgaio, a student worker at the PCC from 1963-65 who retired in 2005 after a career in automobile financing, said in her final hours, his mother sweetly described their time at the Cultural Center and in Hawaii as “most precious.”
Aunty Millie is survived by numerous grandchildren, great- and great-great grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Aloha nuinui, Aunty Millie.
I REMEMBER Kingi & Millie TeNgaio from when I was growing up in Laie... I think it's cool that our son married one of their posterity! Cool to have that Maori connection.
ReplyDeleteNow, my sweet, it's time for you to post another blog and/or more pictures! Miss you all.
Love & HUGS XOXO