This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
West Valley City • For Tongans living in Utah, a visit from Queen Mother Halaevalu Mata'aho of their homeland is special.
So special that just getting a glimpse of the Tongan king's mother is exciting, according to Taniela Lavulo, a Utahn and retired U.S. Army captain who is helping coordinate security for the 85-year-old, who is visiting the Beehive State for a few weeks.
Many got their chance to see the queen mother at a Wednesday night prayer service and celebration at a private home where Mata'aho is staying. The attendees prayed, sang hymns and danced. In addition, they presented gifts, including money for charitable projects, to the queen mother, who is the president of the Tonga Red Cross Society.
"Tongans everywhere are so elated," Lavulo said of Mata'aho's visit.
Seini Maafu of West Valley City, a native Tongan who grew up in Utah, was thrilled to see Mata'aho. "It's the chance of a lifetime," she said.
The queen mother, who does not give interviews, arrived in Utah last week to help celebrate the rededication of the Tongan United Methodist Church in West Valley City. The Rev. Havili Mone and his congregants celebrated paying off the mortgage on the building at 1553 W. Crystal Ave. (2590 South).
Mata'aho and her late husband, King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, attended the original dedication in 2004. Tupou died in 2006, and the couple's son, George Tupou V, is now king of the constitutional hereditary monarchy in the South Pacific.
Tongans in traditional dress have gathered nightly on the front lawn at the West Valley City home to celebrate and express their gratitude to Mata'aho. Many are Methodists, but others, including Mormons and Catholics, also come.
Lavinia Haunga, who saw the queen mother during her 2004 visit, was pleased about her return.
"It's very exciting," she said. "We pray and we have [music and dance] numbers to do for her."
One of the attendees was Lester W.B. Moore, former president and chief executive officer of the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii, who gave Mata'aho a monetary gift during a private meeting Wednesday. Moore — who was given an honorary title by Mata'aho's husband in 1993 — praised the queen mother's work with mentally and physically disabled people.
"I think she is a remarkable woman," said Moore, who is a Sandy businessman.
Lavulo said that Mata'aho has met with Gov. Gary Herbert during her visit and toured Tahitian Noni International, a Utah County company that sells a juice based on the noni plant from French Polynesia. She is to be presented with the key to West Valley City in a private ceremony.
More than 13,000 people who identify themselves as Tongan or part Tongan live in Utah, according to the 2010 census. The majority live in the Salt Lake metropolitan area. Almost 2,400 of them reside in West Valley City.