Exactly a decade ago to the day, on April 18, 2004, when I emailed my first ever Views from Auckland column to Laisa for the May 2004 issue of this magazine, little did I imagine that my tenth anniversary column would be her tribute. In fact, when I called from Auckland to wish her well on her birthday on January 15 this year, she reminded me that 2014 was my column’s tenth year. Ever since, I’ve been wondering what the theme for my anniversary column for the May issue should be. Laisa, like many times before, gave me the idea – but in such a sad way, this once.
And to think that Bosso won’t even be reading it… Laisa’s professionalism and work ethic always held me in awe. In her final weeks, she wanted to work as long as she would be able to. When she was too frail to travel to work, she insisted that a small office be set up at her home. It was done but sadly, it did not work out well but Laisa did not give up. The last issue of this magazine left the presses on April 3. Her colleagues rushed with an advance copy to her home. Though she was too weak to meet with them, her son Aisake leafed through the copy for her that evening. He later said she smiled and then went to sleep.
She passed away the next morning. Her ability to plan ahead and work simultaneously on as many as six titles on an average workday was simply superhuman. Ever the meticulous planner, Laisa had the cover story for this magazine’s April issue written well in advance in February. In what can only be a strong premonition of the inevitable that April 4 was to bring, she not only held that cover story back but also had several extra stories prescheduled for April. “A major reason why the Islands Business team was able to come out early with the April edition is basically because of Laisa’s immaculate forward planning and impressive work ethic,” says Samisoni Pareti, who held the fort for Bosso.
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