Asleep in Jesus – Sis. Kerttu Karhinen
On August 6, 2006, Sis. Kerttu Karhinen died peacefully in her sleep, in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Sis. Karhinen was the oldest member in the Canadian Field, being 93 years old at her death. She was born on April 18, 1913 in Finland into a very poor family. She had a very difficult childhood, and had to work since the age of 8, when she was given to a rich family to take care of their home.
She married Onni in 1933. She went on to have 3 children, Anne, Leo and Juhani. Early in their marriage, during World War II, Kerttu and her husband had was ordered to leave their home in the town of Viipuri because that part of Finland had been taken over by the Russians. They moved to Helsinki where they lived in a small apartment. Sis. Karhinen worked several jobs to provide for her family, while trying to raise three small children.
Seeking for a better life, the family immigrated to Canada in January of 1957. In Canada, Sis. Karhinen remained a hard worker, working as a domestic to help provide for her family.
In 1984, her husband died during a trip back to his home town, which still remains in Russian territory. For the next 22 years, Sis. Karhinen lived alone. She loved to have people over to her house, and she was at her happiest when she could be a hostess to the family and various other visitors, preparing elaborate meals for all. Her move into a nursing home was initially very difficult for her, as she could no longer fulfill her role of hostess.
Sis. Karhinen was baptized into the Seventh Day Adventist Church at the age of 22 in Finland. When she came to Canada, the family came into contact with the SDA Church Reform Movement and shortly after, Sis. Karhinen was accepted into the Reform Church and remained a faithful member of the Reform Church to the time of her death. She was very faithful in her church attendance and brought her children to church when they were still living with her. Those in the Toronto church knew her very well. She lived in Toronto up until 5 years ago, when, at the age of 89, when most people who are still alive are in retirement or nursing homes, she decided to move to Thunder Bay and buy herself a little house. We have all missed her smiles and hugs since then.
She lived on her own in her house until the age of 91, with her son, Leo helping with the yard work and snow shoveling. She then had to go into a nursing home because of her failing eyesight. She could no longer see well enough to live on her own and take care of herself.
She had a stroke about a month ago, and since that time her health declined rapidly. The Tuesday before her death, she slipped into a coma. God had blessed her with a long life. And she remained a blessing to all who came into contact with her.
Kerttu loved to sing. She had one of the church hymnals at home, and often when she woke up early in the mornings, she would take her hymnal and sing the beautiful songs she loved. When her hearing worsened, and she could no longer hear the preacher giving his sermons, she could still hear the music and would sing the songs from memory.
After her move to the nursing home, she developed Alzheimer’s and became more and more dependent on the care of the nursing home staff. She was always a very independent woman who was used to being the helper, and had to adjust to others helping take care of her. Up until the time of her stroke, she was still able to get around on her own, often getting into “trouble” from the nursing home staff because she would refuse to use a walker.
Kerttu leaves behind her three children,– Anne, Leo, and John; her six grandchildren,–Helen, Wendy, Ken, Lynne, Anna and Brett; and her three great-grandchildren,–Richard, Sharon, and Aiddan. She was a kind and loving grandmother, mother, wife and friend and we will all miss her. But, she is not completely gone from us. She will remain in our memories and in our hearts, and one day, if we are faithful, I am sure we will meet her again in heaven.