In Loving Memory

Leo Arnie Makinen (1911-2007)

I came back to Bear Lake on Monday because my grandfather (my last living grandparent; photo taken last August) died late Saturday night (which was Sunday afternoon in Japan.) He had been in and out of the hospital lately and as he was 95, his body just started to shut down. He went peacefully in his sleep.

I had told my school about his condition in advance and fortunately, if there is one thing the Japanese understand, it is funerals. I was able to get a week off to come back here on the spur of the moment. I literally packed in 30 minutes after arranging my ticket and meeting my supervisor to give her my schedule. (Fortunately, we had enough miles for an international frequent flyer ticket- otherwise there would have been no way I could have afforded one at the last minute like that.) It has been good to be home because I feel like I miss out on a lot sometimes by NOT being here. And death is certainly a part of life, even if it is not a pleasant one. The funeral is today (Wednesday- this is probably coming up Japan time but it is actually 7:20 in the morning & I am wide awake thanks to jet-lag) and it will just be a small ceremony at our church, which is actually in the Finnish town, Kaleva, where he grew up. There will not be a burial because the ground is quite frozen.

I will always remember how my grandpa taught me to fish at his cottage on Bear Lake. He loved baseball and used to love to listen to the Tigers game on the radio on summer nights. We played darts in the basement of his home near Chicago, and shuffleboard at the cottage. As he was Finnish, he loved his Saturday night sauna followed by a swim in the lake. He certainly had what the Finns proudly call SISU (similar to what the Japanese call the "Gambatte spirit"- which means perseverance.) He will be missed. Hyvästi, Isoisä.