TERESIA TEAIWA

TERESIA KIEUEA TEAIWA  August 12, 1968 ~ March 21, 2017  
On Tuesday, March 21, 2017, Teresia K. Teaiwa, poet, scholar, teacher, feminist, leader and activist passed away after a brief illness. The cause was pancreatic cancer. Dr. Teaiwa directed the Pacific Studies and Samoan Studies unit, a globally leading program in Pacific learning, at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, Dr. Teaiwa was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to John Tabakitoa Teaiwa of the Fiji Islands, and Joan Martin Teaiwa, a native Washingtonian whose parents were the late Col. John T. and Hestlene B. Martin. Dr. Teaiwa was raised in Fiji with sisters, Katerina and Maria. She is survived by husband, Sean Mallon and sons, Manoa and Vaitoa. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Trinity Washington University, her Masters degree from the University of Hawaii, and her PhD from the University of California, Santa Cruz. The expressions, via social media, of love and sadness at her passing are worldwide. A mass and celebration of Dr. Teaiwa's life was held on March 25, 2017, in Porirua City, New Zealand. Many memorial gatherings in her honor have been and will be held across the globe.