COMMUNITY HONOURING A LIFE
You may have read the weekend article in the Post or Stuff, of the story of Mr Solipo Slade, who died over 3 weeks ago, with no known relatives. Kapiti Coast Funeral Home arranged a burial for him at Awa Tapu Cemetery, on a wet May afternoon Thursday 4th May 2023, a week ago today. Solipo Slade appeared to have no family and so his move to residential care was arranged by the DHB. Even his residential care and doctor’s records had no next of kin listed. With dozens of searches including online, through the Samoan church community, emails, visits to the police, discussions with institutions, doctors, and advertising in the newspaper, all were fruitless. After this exhaustive search, finally, the care facility gave permission to have him put to rest. With very little funds the cheaper option would have been a cremation, however, I felt from the information I had gained about him being of Samoan descent and a Methodist, that a burial was the right option culturally. With some arm twisting, KCDC kindly donated a burial plot for free and the funeral home subsidised the rest of the costs including covering the costs for the interment preparation (digging) fees, marque, casket, and our time.
The community was amazing, with a member of the public donating money for flowers, another donating Samoan lei for those attending, and a Lavalava for the casket, the Kiosk donated a temporary plaque to name the plot, and a friend of mine, who is a Samoan Methodist Presbyterian Minister, came with a support person to lead a lovely intimate graveside service. With four of my staff as Pall bearers, and members attending from the Care facility, a total of twelve people farewelled Mr Slade. A conclusion to the story. Having seen the article in the Post and on Stuff, a relative, a
cousin by adoption, and another relative have made contact. They are pleased they have a place to visit and pay their respects. A few other members of the public have since made donations towards costs, which we hope to put towards a permanent headstone for him.
It felt right to honour his life with this fitting farewell.