Obituary: Vaikonpaa, Toivo Aukusti

VAIKONPAA,
Toivo Aukusti

Born: 28 September 1920
Died: 27 February 2012

Toivo died early on a Monday morning, dressing and preparing to meet the day as he always did.

He leaves behind his daughter, Laila Kaer (Douglas); son, Esse Vaikonpaa; grand- sons, Jonathan (Sydney), Benjamin (Heather) and Christopher Kaer; and great-granddaughters, Alexandria and Lena.

He was preceded to Heaven by his wife, Hilma, in March, 2009.

They had been married 62 years.

His life was not easy, but his joy came from work and family.

In WWII, he was a soldier for Finland in both the Winter War and Continuation War and was the last surviving member of his Company.

With virtually no formal education, he authored a book that included much of that history and spoke of those times with deep emotion.

He immigrated to Canada in 1953, arriving with barely the clothes on his back and a few dollars in his pocket.

He labored hard and lived cheaply to save enough to bring his wife and two children to Toronto in 1955.

They finally got U.S. resident visas in 1964 and ended up in Spokane where he made his mark on the landscape by building fine homes and working on commercial projects including hospitals, banks and downtown office buildings.

He was an amazing and skilled craftsman, but it was “sisu” (guts) that defined Toivo and the way he faced whatever life threw at him.

He lived his dream and in August, 2009, returned to his hometown, Oulainen, Finland, where he spent his remaining years visiting with family and friends, enjoying his Finnish rye bread with butter and having pointed discussions about events of the day.

Toivo showed his love in many quiet ways.

It was in the handmade headstones for family in Finland, or finding (without Google) outdated parts to keep a friend’s machinery running.

I remember him crying about his very sick kitty, but also saw the joyful waltz he danced with his daughter on her wedding day.

He did so much for so many, but always wanted to do more.

One friend visualized Toivo walking up to TSA at the Pearly Gates, his old, beat-up chainsaw in hand.

St. Peter, “You should leave that outside, sir.”

Toivo, “Oh, I keep.

I might need to clean some land.”

He was 91 and we already miss him -” a lot.

The funeral will be in Oulainen on March 30th.