Friends, Family Honor Slain Nurse

Relatives planted a tree at a Santa Ana hospital Monday during a memorial service for a nurse whose shooting death last month remains unsolved.

Luao Lani Autagavaia, 31, of Santa Ana was going to work April 28 at Coastal Communities Hospital when she was shot to death by an unknown assailant at the end of the southbound Dyer Road exit of the Costa Mesa Freeway.

The victim’s 6-year-old daughter, Sharon, clutched a portrait of her mother as relatives and colleagues gathered for the service in a conference room at the hospital, sharing memories, poetry and song.

“There was this one night we worked together,” recalled Maureen Kochen, director of the hospital’s Golden Years Program. “We spent the whole night teasing each other and laughing as we took care of the patients. She had a wonderful laugh.”

For the last three years, Autagavaia worked in the senior mental health facility at the hospital, feeding, bathing and consoling senior citizens.

“She was very tall and very beautiful which made her pretty obvious,” Jane Jackson, director of nurses, said. “Her smile really lit up a room when she entered it.”

Autagavaia’s uncle, Leota Strickland, thanked the hospital for support as the family struggles to deal with the loss.

“She dedicated her life to helping others, to serve the people that were suffering,” Strickland said. “We don’t understand how someone like that can be taken away in this way.”

After the service, the sun peeked out of dark clouds long enough for Lafael Autagavaia, the victim’s 36-year-old brother who will be caring for Sharon, and four other family members to plant a seedless plum tree in the backyard of the senior facility.

“Maybe this tragedy can be used as a sign,” Kochen said, “a wake-up call that will teach us to be more active in causes against violence.”

The hospital has established a memorial fund in honor of Autagavaia to defray the cost of her funeral and to help raise Sharon.

Donations may be sent to: Memorial Fund for Lani Autagavaia, South Coast Office, Sanwa Bank, 3931 S. Bristol St., Santa Ana, CA 92704.