A TRIBUTE TO MY MOM, WHO WOULD HAVE TURNED 95 THIS WEEK . . During this week, I havent had time to sit at my computer much, without falling asleep, that is! So I havent posted some significant thoughts. Two days ago, I would have liked to have acknowledged the 95th anniversary of my mothers birth. Eva Alina Ryynanen was born that day, August 13, 1919, outside of Chassell, MI, on a farm along the Sturgeon River, in Michigans Upper Peninsula. She was the sixth child of eight born to Mr. and Mrs. Nils Peter Saari, a hard-working, farming couple who had both migrated to the U.S., he from an island off the coast of Norway (but born of a Finnish family) and she from Finland, proper. My mom met and married Edwin Rolig Ryynanen in the Copper Country, while both were members of the First Apostolic Lutheran Congregation, attending services at the organizations church in Hancock, MI. They went on to have seven of us offspring, four girls and three boys, little David being the fifth in line. Eva thus served as a hard-working, busy, well-organized domestic manager for her family. Having had to leave school after eighth grade (about 1934, Id guess) to help on the farm, she proudly graduated from high school the same year as her youngest child Beth (now Sally)! Quite a proud accomplishment! She thoroughly enjoyed her high school completion classes, through the auspices of Houghton High School, in Houghton, MI, my home town, Im proud to say. She outlived Edwin by nearly nineteen years, dying just shy of her ninetieth birthday, in 2009, at home in Ishpeming, MI, just like she wanted it to happen. She could not have tolerated being dependent on long-term care, independent and proud to the end. She was quite a gal! She battled times of heavy depression, periodically, but she also knew how to have fun. And she could erupt into boisterous laughter, at times even wetting her pants during fits of mirth and gaiety. And my offspring - particularly Stephanie Ryynanen Westerinen, who traveled with me several times back to Michigan to visit with Grandma Ryynie - would attest to my moms sometimes-risque, always entertaining, revelations about her past. As I said, she was quite a gal! And Im happy to say that, despite my sometimes-rebelliousness against her master sergeant approach to parenting when we all seven of her kids were young and lively, Mom and I developed a loving, understanding relationship with each other, especially after Dads passing in 1990. I remember her now with a rise in my chest, with great love and respect. Rest in peace, Mom. You ran a good race. You fought a good fight. You have finished your course. I miss our visits, but I understand that you had somewhere you had to go. Im fiercely proud to call you Mom and that you called me son. You gave me a fine heritage of living honestly, living cleanly, and always giving my best effort to my employer, never having to apologize for collecting my paycheck.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 22:01:05 +0000
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