She dedicated her life to ensuring the CHamoru language was taught, and taught properly in our public schools, and was an advocate for the promotion of cultural practices. Now, we honor the legacy of the late Levonne Mantanona, a passionate CHamoru teacher, through the eyes of her daughter, who continues to carry forward her mother's work.

The matriarch has been the heart and soul of ancient CHamoru society, a guiding light helping to keep the language, culture, and history alive. Since the late 1980s, MU Lujan Elementary School CHamoru teacher Levonne Mantanona embodied  that role, preserving and passing down precious knowledge to countless generations of students.

Her daughter Jamielynn Mantanona told KUAM News, “Everything she did–she did it with her whole heart and with dedication.” And Jamielynn was one of them. “I knew that I wanted to teach the culture and the language...unknowingly, mom, she did mentor me, as well.” 

But after a lifetime of devotion, Levonne sadly passed away last year. Her legacy now lives on in Jamielynn, who stands in her mother’s place, teaching at the same school, in the very same role - a powerful, full-circle moment filled with love and purpose. 

“On my first day, it wasn’t a work day–I saw a purple butterfly flew by me. And I’ve never seen a purple butterfly before–it was black and purple, and her favorite color was purple. And I just felt like she was welcoming me here," she recalled.

“I just wish she was still here with me to teach alongside her.”

Now, Jamielynn carries on her mother’s life’s work, perpetuating, revitalizing, and fostering the CHamoru culture and language at the very school her mom dedicated her life to, and where her daughter now attends.

“My hope moving forward is to just continue teaching the language and culture and putting my heart into it. And hopefully, I stay here for another 30 years," she said.  “One thing that I do want to say is something that my mom always told me, which is a very simple phrase: Hu Guiaya hao todu i tiempo - which means, I love you forever.”