Today would have been Oscar's 51st birthday. In celebration of that, some of his children have some beautiful things to say.
Poem by Edward -
"En route home and it's one of those days where you can't figure out whether it's good or not. It's the 24 of May and today would have marked my dads 51st birthday. I lost dad 4 years ago to a heart surgery gone wrong. But I dint lose him completely. He's still vey much with me in everything I do. Like a comedic conscience that's always giving me life lessons through humor. For example right now I'm on the train making my way home and I just got fined for trying to buy a ticket on the wrong side of the gates. You try to do the right thing and buy a ticket for a train service that never on time, and you get no compassion. These metro people are stupid. If my dad was here he'd either run like a crazy man or talk to the ticketing people til eventually they became friends and they'd forget why he was even there in the first place. Dad was pretty cool like that. He was very much a people person. I guess what he taught me in life, even if he didn't actually teach me intentionally is that there are more important things in life than to be bitter and upset. No matter how great or small the issue may be try to think about the better things that make you happy. Here's to everyone who's lost their dad, and miss them very much. Just remember they'll always be near :)"
Message from Savea -
Ia Manuia lou Aso Fanau Uso!
First I want to thank our Father in Heaven for the many blessing for all of us. Yes, many of us are still struggling during this economical slide. But there are many more out there who don't have what we have. Let's be grateful for what we have at this time.
As for brother Oscar, I'm getting emotional as I'm trying to think of his time with us on this earth. No matter how much we understand the purpose of life, no matter how much we are grateful for the Plan of Salvation, the memories of our loved ones will continue to live with us. Brother Oscar was not as fortunate as some of us. He had a heart problem and other health issues and I still remember when he was about 5 or 6 years old during some of our dinners. Dad made a nice dinner table for us and sometimes during dinner, Oscar would eat and fell off to sleep right on the dinner table. Us kids would laugh but little did we know that was the first sign of his health problem.
At the end of 1975, 9 years since I left Samoa after serving a mission for the CCH/BYU-Hawaii, I went back home to find Oscar staying at the Moto'otua Hospital. In spite of his health struggles, he always had that infectious smiling face. He was a very handsome guy too.
As we all witnessed, Oscar lived a lot longer than some people thought. He even got married to a caring, loving and understanding wife Olevia and was blessed with several beautiful children. I bear witness that God had a plan for each of us. God has a plan for brother Oscar. He didn't die in vain. It was his time to leave us. And we'll see him again with that beautiful smile.
Brother Oscar, I'm grateful for being a brother to you in this life and in the life to come. We all love you. You have children on earth to carry your name and a wife that was at your side through the ups and downs of life.
Happy Birthday Brother.
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