Mrs. Malie Puaala Williams Has Passed Away
("O Mrs. Malie Puaala Williams Ua Hala", Nupepa Kuokoa, July 15, 1921)
Dear editor of the Kuokoa, greetings:—To inform those in every corner of this land who are friends and acquaintances of Mrs. Puaala Williams, my dear wife and companion, my sympathizer in all things related to this life, my companion in the face of hardship, together enduring the heavy burden of every variety, please have the kindness to publish in available space of the columns of the delicate form of the treasure of the nation that she has passed on to the path of Kane.1 The bond has been forever severed, leaving only remains for me and her family to cry and mourn over without sleep, night and day, full of love and never-ending grief.
Whereas man is but grass that wilts,2 and life is a vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away,3 and whereas the spirit of a person cannot be bartered, and the affairs of the body and the spirit are entirely separate, may the creator of body and spirit be forever glorified, since he is the planter and thus may uproot that which he has planted.
She suffered from illness for many years. All manner of remedies were sought out, but the power of the illness was greater than the knowledge and skill of man. The expertise of doctors and the power of medicine could not preserve her life, and so she passed away. Love passes accompanied by intense regret!
She appeared in this world of light from the loins of her mother, Malia Kekapa, and her father, Napeha, at Nuu, Kaupo 55 years ago. Many came from the same womb,4 but most of the siblings, 12 in all, have passed to the other world, leaving only two from this key and box.5 With her passing, only one of their generation remains in this world, along with many children and grandchildren.
She was educated in Hawaiian-language schools and then at the English-language government school in Honolulu when she moved to that city. She was a longtime member of the Catholic Church until her passing.
In February 1905, we were joined in the holy covenant of marriage. I was her second husband. We lived together for 15 years but no children came from our loins. She has one daughter from her first husband still alive—Mrs. Ana Devauchelle of Pukoo, Molokai—and 10 grandchildren.
She was a member of the United Heart Association of the Catholic Church and a member and adviser of the women’s branch of the Hawaiian Relief and Savings Society until departing to the island of Hina,6 where her mortal remains lie. She was a founding member of the Native Hawaiian Society and remained in good standing until laying down to the eternal slumber of summer and winter.7 Because of this, the women’s branch of the Hawaiian Relief and Savings Society made finery for her and paid her funeral procession expenses as a gift.
The deceased, Malie Puaala Williams, was a mother whose many fine qualities were recognized by everyone who knew her. She was kind and welcoming, with an open heart to all. She will not be seen or heard again, since dust has been returned to the earth and the spirit to the one who gave it.8 Nevertheless, the love, appreciation and unforgettable memories of her will never vanish as the seasons go by.
We would like to express our everlasting gratitude to the friends and companions who joined us in our hours of sorrow and mourning for our beloved one who has departed this life. Thanks to the women’s branch of the Hawaiian Relief and Savings Society for their assistance with our dear one. Thank you to the Native Hawaiian Society for its support and for treating me as if I were a member in good standing of the society. We also give thanks to all the friends who shed tears of love for the departed. We ask the Almighty One bestow us with His serene fortitude.
Sorrowfully,
HENRY WILLIAMS WILSON,
MRS. ANA DEVAUCHELLE,
and family.
Composed at Pukoo, Molokai, July 2, 1921.
Below is the obituary in the original Hawaiian:
O MRS. MALIE PUAALA WILLIAMS UA HALA.
I ka Lunahooponopono o ke Kuokoa, e aloha a nui:—I ike mai ai hoi na kini makamaka ame na hoaloha mai kela a keia pe’a o ka aina o Mrs Puaala Williams kuu wahine aloha kuu hoapili a o kuu hoa ohumuhumu hoi ma na mea apau ai keia ola honua ana, ka hoa hoi i alo pu ai i na inea he nui, a i hoomanawanui pu ai i na haawe kaumaha o kela ame keia ano, e oluolu mai kou ahonui e hookomo iho ma kekahi kowa kaawale o na kolamu o ke kino lahilahi o ka hiwahiwa a ka lahui, ua hala aku la oia ma ke ala koikua a Kane, ua wehe mai la i ka pili hooko o mau loa a ua ahu iho la i ka ukana mahope nei he waimaka, a nona au ame ka ohana e u ae nei, a hia a mau ae nei i ka po me ke ao no ke aloha me ka minamina pau ole, a oiai he mauu mae wale ke kanaka, ua like no ke ola ame ka mahu i pu-a ae a nalo aku, a oiai no hoi he mea hiki ole ka uhane o ke kanaka ke kuaiia, a he mea okoa loa ka i kuleana i ke kino ame ka uhane, e hoonani mau loa ia aku ka mea nana i hana ko kino ame ka uhane, o ke kanaka, a no ka mea, nana no i kanu a oia no ka mea kuleana e huhuki i kana mea i kanu ai.
No kekahi mau makahiki lehulehu i kaahope ka hoomailo ana a ka ma’i iaia, ua huliia ke ola ma na ano apau, a oiai ua oi aku ka ikaika o ka ma’i mamua o ka ike ame ke akamai o ke kanaka, ua hiki ole i ke akamai o ke kauka ame ka ikaika o ka laau ke kaohi mai i kona ola, a hala wale aku la. Hala ke aloha naue pu no me ka anoi-a!
Ua oili mai oia i keia ao malamalama mailoko mai o ka puhaka mai o Malia Kekapa kona luaui makuahine, a o Napeha kona luai makuakane, ma Nuu, Kaupo, he 55 makahiki i hala aku nei. He luhulehu lakou i oili mai i keia ao mai ka pahu hookahi mai, eia nae, ua hala aku no ka hapanui o kona mau hoahanau he umi-kumama-lua ka nui, ma kela ao, a koe elua wale no laua a ke ki a ka pahu hookahi, a iaia i hala aku la, hookahi wale no ko lakou hanauna i koe ma keia ao a i lehulehu i na keiki ame na moopuna.
Ua hoonaauaoia oia maloko o na kula Hawaii, a ma na kula Beritania aupuni ma Honolulu ma kona wa i nee mai ai a noho maloko o ke kulanakauhale, a he hoahanau kahiko oia no ka hoomana Katolika Roma a moe wale aku la.
Ma ka mahina o Febehuari, 1905, i hoohuiia ai maua ma ka berita maemae o ka mare, owau ka lua o kana kane o ka mare ana, a iloko o na makahiki lehulehu he umi-kumamalima kahiki he 15 a maua oka noho pu ana aohe nae he hua i loaa mailoko mai o ko maua puhaka, hookahi ana kaikamahine e ola nei i keia la me ke kane mua oia o Mrs. Ana Devauchelle e noho mai la ma Pukoo, Molokai, a mailoko aku o laua na moopuna he umi e ola mai la i nei manawa.
He hoa oia no ka ahahui Puuwai Lokahi o ka hoomana Katolika, a he hoa no hoi a he hoakuka no ka Ahahui Hookuonoono o na Wahine Oiwi Hawaii, ahiki i kona kaawale ana aku i ka mokupuni o Hina, a malaila hoi i waiho ai kona kino wailua. Oia kekahi o na hoa kahiko loa nana i hookumu i ka Ahahui o Oiwi Hawaii, a oia no hoi kekahi o na lala ku maikai ahiki i kona moe ana aku la i ka moe kau a moe hooilo, no ia kumu ua hana mai ka ahahui o na Wahine Oiwi Hawaii i ka mea maikai nona ma o ka uku ana i kona mau lilo hoolewa ame ka haawi ana mai i ka manawalea.
He makuahine o Malie Puaala Williams i moe aku la, i ikeia kona mau ano maikai lehulehu e na mea apau i kamaaina iaia, he oluolu, he heahea, he puuwai hamama i na mea apau. Ua pau ka ike hou ana iaia, ua pau hoi ka lohe hou ana i kona leo ame ka ike hou ana i kona a no ka mea, ua hoi ka lepo i ka lepo, a o ka uhane i ka mea nana i haawi mai, aka nae o ke aloha ame ka minamina nona, na hoomanao poina ole no hoi, aole ia e nalohia aku ana i na kau a kau.
Ke haawi aku nei makou i na hoomaikai palena ole i na makamaka ame na hoaloha i komo mai e u pu me makou iloko o ko makou mau hora o ka luuluu ame ke kaumaha no ka makou mea aloha i haalele mai i keia ola ana ke haawi aku nei i na hoomaikai i ka Ahahui Kokua a Hookuonoono o na Wahine Oiwi Hawaii no kana kokua i ka makou mea aloha, ke haawi aku nei ka hoomaikai i ka Ahahui Oiwi Hawaii no kana kokua ia’u ma ke ano he lala ku maikai au no ia ahahui, a ke haawi pu aku nei hoi i na hoomaikai i na hoaloha apau i haawi mai i na waimaka aloha no ka mea heleloa, a ke noi ae nei makou i ka Mea Mana Loa e kau mai Kana hoomalu ahonui ana maluna o kakou apau.
O makou no me ka luuluu.
HENRY WILLIAMS WILSON,
MRS. ANA DEVAUCHELLE,
ame ka ohana.
Hanaia ma Pukoo, Molokai, Iulai, 2, 1921.
Footnotes
- A variation on a common poetic saying for death. See entry No. 421 in the book “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings“.
- 1 Peter 1:24.
- James 4:14.
- In Hawaiian, “pahu” (box).
- That is, the male and female loins.
- A common nickname name for Molokai. See entry No. 2194 in “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau”.
- A common poetic saying for death. See entry No. 2168 in “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau”.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7.