A legacy of building

Church labor missionary Sione Feinga remembered for his work ethic, dedication to God, and service to family and fellowmen

BY LEEANN LAMBERT

One of the Church’s labor missionaries originally from Tonga, who helped build the Polynesian Cultural Center, parts of the Laie Hawaii Temple and BYU–Hawaii campus and more, Sione Feinga passed away on July, 9, 2020. His family and friends gathered to remember him on July 17.

Wearing traditional Tongan mats, members of Feinga’s family gathered in the backyard of their Laie residence to remember and honor a man who was a leader in the Church and a BYUH retiree who was the associate director of Physical Facilities on campus. In 2017, the University honored him by naming an annual employee performance award after him for his “many years of dedicated service, leadership and selfless devotion to Brigham Young University–Hawaii,” says the plaque he received.

Friends started arriving early on the morning of July 17 for the viewing, filing in along one side of the house into the backyard, greeting family and passing by his casket, then exiting through the other side of the house. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only family members attended the funeral services held after the viewing in the backyard of their family home, which Feinga built himself along with his labor missionary friends. His son, Johnny Feinga, conducted the services shown via Facebook for those who could not attend.

Sione Feinga was born on Aug. 4, 1935, in Tonga, says information on his funeral program. He was the youngest of seven children. He attended Liahona High School in Tonga from 1950 to 1953 until a rugby injury sent him home to recover.

In 1956, he became a labor missionary in Tonga and spent three years building chapels and additional buildings at Liahona High School. While serving at Liahona, he met his wife, Adele, a young teacher at the school, and he said the two fell in love quickly. “The mission changed my whole life,” he wrote in his personal history in 2002. “I love the work and learned how to build, and I met my wife, Adele.”

Next, he was one of 31 Tongans called on labor missions to Hawaii, says information on his funeral service’s program. The missionaries arrived on Oahu in 1960. They worked on the Center, the Laie Hawaii Temple and the Church College of Hawaii. In his personal history, he recalled, “My family was very happy to hear of the news of my call to Hawaii. It was the first time a Feinga left Tonga [to] go overseas… That is a big step in life to go overseas and work for the Church.”

He and Adele married in the Laie Hawaii Temple the same day he completed his mission on June 2, 1962, and after Adele got a job at the Church College of Hawaii.

Over the years, Sione Feinga served in several leadership positions in the Church. He was an elders quorum president, counselor in a bishopric, a bishop, a counselor in the stake presidency, and became the Laie Hawaii Stake president in 1984. His journal entry about his service read, “My testimony of the Church had strengthened in all the callings I have had.”

Each of his children spoke at his service. His daughter, Kathy Pulotu, spoke about her dad’s life. She said he built their house in Laie “Tongan style, which means with no money.” She said he used what resources he had and

Top three photos: Feinga was a member of 31 Tongans called as labor missionaries in 1960 to Laie Hawaii. Photos from the Brigham Young University–Hawaii Archives and Special Collections.

The Feingas were married the day Sione Feinga finished his labor mission. Photo provided by Monique Saenz. Graphics by Esther Insigne.

worked with the other labor missionaries to build the Feinga’s home, and then he also helped the other labor missionaries build their homes.

Daughter Janet Niutupuivaha said she was so proud of her father for all the buildings and hotels he worked on in Waikiki. “We worked hard, and we played hard,” she said, adding the family always made time for fun. She said her dad loved to play games, and they played them often at the dinner table.

Niutupuivaha added her father worked to encourage and support the rising generation, and she loved how he loved and took care of her mother and their family. “I am so honored to be his daughter,” she said.

Daughter Shannon Beaver talked about how she never got tired of hearing her dad’s stories. She said while the food at dinner would be gone in five minutes, the family would stay at the table talking.

She added her dad taught them when they made a commitment, they had to follow through. “You can’t not show up,” she said.

“He was my hero,” said Beaver, who is the oldest in the Feinga family. She said her dad told her it was up to her to be a good example to her younger brother and sisters. “I took that very seriously. I never wanted to disappoint my dad.”

Son Johnny Feinga talked about how his dad made everything fun while also teaching them to work hard. He spoke about coming home one day to a mountain of sand. They had to move and spread the sand around the yard. He said even though it was hard work, his dad also made it fun. “Serving in the gospel is fun. Being a good husband and father is fun. We all need to have fun,” Johnny Feinga said.

In addition, Johnny Feinga talked about his dad growing crops at the Church farm in Hauula. In one of his journal entries, Sione Feinga says, “Since the beginning of 1995, I was very busy on the farm… I love to go to the farm and meet with all the people of the stakes. So far, I planted about 200 taros, 100 tapiocas, 150 sweet potatoes, 75 ulus, 18 papayas and six peles. It’s sure fun to watch things grow.”

Johnny Feinga said he is carrying on his dad’s tradition of working at the farm. “I am grateful for his legacy and will try to live up to it.”

He concluded by saying his father knew that Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, live, and he spent “all this life helping others also to know that.”

Several of Sione Feinga’s personal testimony statements were included in his funeral services program. One quote from his journal written in 1993 says, “I hope that many years of service will help my kids on [with] their lives and family to know the Lord will bless those who keep his commandments. It has been a blessing and a great learning opportunity for me to service continually for the last 32 years.”

He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.