My dad told me this story about my great grandmother.  This story tells us about caring and protecting our family.

Mama Jane Strickland’s Life

This story is about my great grandmother told by my dad, Tere Strickland, who is a grandson of Mama Jane Strickland.

Mama Jane Strickland was born on March 25, 1933 and died on December 17, 1997.  She was married to Papa Kura Strickland and they had 10 children, who are Mama Tia, George, Tuakana, John, Ruta, Kathe, Hamilton, Kura Jr., and Puna. Mama Jane Strickland was a humble, caring, loving, athletic, creative and great person.

When Mama Jane was 13, she stayed with her mama up the mountain in Arorangi. Her mum and dad died when she was seven years old. Her mum died by a heart attack and the dad died in a fire in the house.

One day, Mama Jane sneaked outside on Christmas, and she ran down to town and saw heaps of people at the market. She wanted to go down, but the Mama called her, and she ran back to her room and pretended she was sleeping.

She waited until midnight, she saw fireworks coming out. The Mama told her to come outside and they had a nice dinner together.

In the morning, she saw kids walking into one place, and then the Mama asked her if she wanted to go to school. She said yes, and the Mama drove her all the way to school. She went to school and started her long, great life.