I had such a wonderful afternoon and evening with Dad. The antibiotics, perhaps, were working their miracles, and he was with us today. There were the times singing Finnish songs–I had to close the door, though, because I couldn’t stand to be overheard, as it was incredibly difficult for me to sing through the tears and the stuffed up throat–with Dad trying to sing along. The “I love you” holding of hands and talking to each other as family closed in: what can I say except I have been so lucky to have been born to my Dad and Mom?

Dad was in pain. His stomach, he says. But he talked to us about his undergraduate years at Wilberforce in Ohio, which he’d gone to as an alternative to his preferred Antioch (couldn’t afford the tuition.). He laughed when we recalled the graduation picture showing masses of black faces with one white face in the upper left, and another in the lower right–both Niilo! He told us he was the first white graduate of Wilberforce. At Antioch, Coretta Scott was a student. He told us how smart she was and how wonderfully she sang. She later went on to marry well….

Dick was there when the doctor talked to us about how Dad was doing. We feel for Dick, who has delivered mail, messages, and more for years to Dad on the Ridge. Maybe I will always think of Mr. Farris and the Anchorage Daily News together, but Dick is much more than that. We all need our friends, and in Dick, our father has had someone who daily gives of himself, even if he is “mean, rotten, and ugly.”

Today was meaningful to me. Dad was of course so gentle, so loving and giving, and also talking about how from the early days he has worked for a better world (modestly, though, he talked of others too who were always doing so much) for all of us. We touched on the fire station–I reminded him that there is a Koponen Fire Station and more. To those of you who know his story, the family invites you to share with other via this forum or others.

Love, Chena