To the Estonian community he was an important man, but to us grandchildren he was just our “Vanaisa” (Grandfather). We have many fond memories of him, most importantly, the one-on-one time we were fortunate to spend at our cottage in Georgian Bay. He was always good company because he never seemed to be in a bad mood. He was always in good spirits and glad to see us.
Even during his last years, he would sit with us and ask about what was going on in our lives because he was genuinely interested in knowing. Because of his personal history and his long-time dedication to Estonian-related endeavours, we quickly realized the importance of our Estonian heritage. Whether it was attending Estonian Guides/Scouts, camps, school, choir folk dancing, gymnastics, or even just speaking the language at home, we understood there was significance to the efforts our Grandfather was trying to establish.
While compiling photos of Vanaisa Hans and thinking about what we should write about him, we soon came to realize that to us, he was an amazing, jolly and compassionate Vanaisa. His lessons, morals and examples will forever have an impact on how we live our lives and motivate us to fight for what we believe in.
He will be deeply missed and forever remembered in our hearts.
KAILI AND KAARIN