Taiana Fuaga Mortensen's Obituary
Taiana Fuaga Mortensen, 54, of Puyallup, Washington was born November 20, 1967, and passed away on February 7, 2022. Taiana will be missed and is loved by many family and friends. Born in Waianae, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, she was known by many as a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, cousin, and relative to many. She didn’t ask to be understood. Her love was not always soft, but it was unwavering. She was a woman of presence—never performative, never distant. Her care was felt in the way she stayed beside us, even when words failed. She held her family with a steadiness that shaped generations, offering protection not through perfection, but through persistence. Her kindness was steady and intentional. It showed in the way she listened without interrupting, in the way she noticed when someone was struggling, in the way she stayed close even when words were few. She offered care without spectacle—quiet, consistent, and deeply felt. She showed up in practical ways—through presence, through effort, through the kind of reliability that made people feel safe. She didn’t need to be the center of attention. She just needed to be there. She moved through the world with quiet strength, refusing to be reduced to stereotype or spectacle. Her legacy is not just in what she gave, but in what she refused to surrender: her dignity, her truth, her presence. She didn’t try to be perfect. She tried to be honest. And she gave us room to be honest too. Those who made her a spectacle never saw the fire behind her eyes—the way she held her ground without needing to be loud. Her staying was a kind of protest. A kind of protection. A kind of love that didn’t ask to be understood. Taiana raised her children with a deep sense of truth and dignity. She taught them to honor complexity, to speak with emotional honesty, and to protect what matters, even when it’s hard. Her legacy lives on in the ways they continue to shape memory with care and defiance. We carry her now—not as a memory to be preserved, but as a force that continues to shape us. In ritual, in language, in the way we show up for each other. She is not gone. She is woven. Taiana is survived by her husband, Samson Jack Mortensen; her four daughters and one son; her many grandchildren; her mother; three sisters; three brothers; and the cousins she loved as siblings. She was a relative to many—across generations, across households, across the quiet spaces where love was offered without condition. Her memory lives on in the way we care for one another, and in the stories we continue to share. ‘Ua malolo le tamaʻitaʻi i le filemu o le Atua. The woman has rested in the peace of God.
Please honor the life and memory of Taiana by leaving cherished memories, messages, and photos for her family on the guestbook page.
Services are pending for Friday, March 4, 2022 at a location TBD.
Graveside Services are set for 1:30pm, Friday, March 4, 2022 at Mountain View Memorial Park.
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