The New Year's celebrations mean a little different to the late Auimatagi Sonnie Edward Phillip Schwalger's family. 

For them, New Year is a time of celebrations, mourning, and remembering their late father and this year marked three decades since their father passed away. Auimatagi's children decided to renovate and upgrade his tombstone. 

"Our father Sonnie instilled in us the essence of hard work and what it's like to be independent and family-oriented. When I say family-oriented, we (sisters) should treat each other with love and respect. He instilled that in us, no matter where we go, how old we get, we should always have each other's back and be there for one another," said Mary Schwalger, one of late Auimatagi's daughters.

"We only have one life to live so live it to the fullest and be happy. We are very proud to be his girls and it is a testament to his grandkids of how strong our bond is. New Year is very significant for us, it is basically a celebration as well as a mourning period for us. 

"It's one of those day where you will never forget. It is not an unveiling because he already had one, it's more of an upgrade or renovation that would last another 30 years. Who knows, another 30 years from now we will come back and renovate it again."

Late Auimatagi would have been 73 years old by now if he was still alive. He is survived by his wife Lusia Schwalger and four daughters. The renewal was done last Wednesday as part of their New Year's celebration.

The four sisters plan on keeping their late father's legacy alive in them.