In Loving Memory...
He tangi apakura mo Hoana Hurihanganui
Ko te matarekereke i ahau i to wehenga, taukuri e
Kare a Aitua wana titiro ka kutia rawatia ahakoa ko wai ra?
Takahia atu te ara e takahi-nuitia ra e te tini, e te mano e...
Aue taukuri e...kua wheturangihia koe
Hoana e....okioki, e moe
A song for Hoana Hurihanganui (JoPants)
My whole body feels numb, you have gone
Death takes us all eventually, all of us, and now you
So travel now the pathway walked upon by the many before you
The pain I feel overwhelms me, though like the stars above you will shine.....bright
I cry for you JoPants, can you hear me? Rest now my darling mother, sleep.
Na John Hurihanganui
It was the day after my 38th birthday, Monday 07 May 2007, when I received the news that Hoana Hurihanganui, our Mother, Nan, cousin, aunt, friend and sister died while pottering around her home in Sydney, Australia.
I write this on behalf of her children, grand-children and great grand-children to share with you a small piece of what we knew about our mother and dear friend.
I am the youngest of the 6 children of Wharekiri (Barry) Te Kowhai - Ngati Te Roro-o-te-rangi, and Hoana Hurihanganui (Joanne) - Ngati Tahu, Ngati Whaoa, and Tuhourangi/Ngati Wahiao who was known to many as JoPants - a nickname she acquired as part of a group of friends with whom she went to school.
My older brothers and sisters are: Jodie (Hoana), Tumeke, Toni (Honoria), Grant (Boy-boy), and Kerry (whom I knew as Binnie, so nicknamed because she was a ‘skinny-binnie'). We all have children, and some of our children have children - but that's a whole other chapter.
Although I am the youngest of Barry and Joanne's kids, I have younger siblings. After Barry and Joanne parted, Joanne had 3 more children, all boys. Craig Frandi (who lives in Auckland), Joseph Maranui (Joey, who lives in Australia) and Allan Bunting (who now lives and plays rugby in Japan). Barry had 2 more children, a boy and a girl: Te Roro-o-te-rangi and Rora.
I knew JoPants to be a happy, loving, thoughtful person. I was raised by Joanne's brother Aperahama (Abe) and Hine Kihawai (Cindy) mostly in Wellington. I was sent back to Rotorua in school holidays to spend time with JoPants who lived at the time in Owhata with my brother Joey. I always knew Barry and Joanne were my parents, and grew up knowing Abe and Cindy as Mum and Dad.
I will leave for others to record in their own ways the things they choose to regarding their memories of our mother, Joanne.
I will say that I miss JoPants, dearly. I will forever miss her warm laugh, her sense of fun and humour. The song at the top I sung on her last day with us, and I dedicate this to her memory.
I cry for you JoPants, can you hear me? Rest now, my darling mother, sleep.
Page last updated 18 Jun 2008
