Shortly after Dad passed away, I felt like I needed to write something...something about who he was and how I felt about him. It is in no way a complete "Eulogy", and I wasn't sure if I wanted or would be able to read it at his funeral, but I did. I stood there, next to my Dad's casket, and read these words. It was painful to write. I struggled to read it. But it is a small part of my tribute to my dad who I love and miss so much.
Klaus Henrik Kurki—Eulogy
I first want to start by saying how grateful I feel to have
had Dad in my life for these past 43 years.
As unbelievably sad as I am to say goodbye, I can’t help but feel so
incredibly lucky to have had him as my dad.
Klaus Henrik Kurki was born as the first son to Alvar and
Laine Kurki in Vaasa, Finland June 27th, 1945. He was the oldest of 5 children (Britta,
Marianne, Ron, and Kenny). He loved his family
dearly. He had an exceptionally close
relationship with his parents…it affected him so much when he lost them both
within such a short time.
Dad was very proud of his Finnish heritage. Although he moved from Finland when he was
only 15 years old, he made sure to keep the Finnish culture a part of his, and
our lives. He taught all his children
and most of his grandchildren how to make pulla and to sing Finnish songs. We went to Scandinavian festivals, opened
presents on Christmas eve, melted led on New Year's Eve, and he even built us
our very own family sauna. We grew up
listening to stories of swimming at his grandparents’ summer cabin, long walks
in the snow, and bathing in the sauna.
In recent years, I spent hours with him looking at maps of his hometown and
watching documentaries about Finland…we talked about traveling there together
someday to see where he grew up. He was always hesitant to go back because he
knew it wouldn’t be the same place that he loved so much. One of my favorite stories from Dad’s
childhood is about when he started elementary school at age 6 or 7. I’m sure all of us have heard the story. His mom dropped him off at school and before
she got home, he was already there waiting for her. She then let him stay home for the whole
school year if he promised to go back the next year with no problems. He loved being home and he loved his mom.
When Dad moved to Canada, he worked hard learning English and
making a life for himself. He met my mom,
Valerie Lorna Winters, through mutual friends at church and they, were married
February 4th, 1971. They
quickly added 4 girls to their family Lisa, Sheri, Tina, and Anita. He loved us.
I am certain we all have no doubt about that.
Dad worked so hard his whole life providing for his family. He worked for the school board for many years,
until he surprised us all by retiring early at the age of 57. He was so much happier staying home, working
in the yard, fixing things around the house, painting, spending time with his
family, and studying the scriptures. I
honestly think he worked harder after he retired than before, but it was
different because it was work he enjoyed.
He spent the next 18 years turning our backyard into a fruit orchard
with pears, grapes, apples, blueberries, figs, raspberries, kiwis, and probably
more that I don’t even know about. When
he wasn’t pruning, watering or harvesting, he was fixing things. Dad could fix just about anything…and was
always eager and willing to come to any of our homes to help us fix
things. He never wanted to throw something
out and buy a new one. He just kept
working till he could fix it.
I’m not sure if dad’s love of fixing things led to his love
of garage sailing and thrift shopping or the other way around, but he couldn’t
resist a good deal for something he knew he could just fix and it would be as
good as new…and could almost certainly barter until he got the price even
lower. I remember one time telling him I
needed a belt, and for the next few months, every Saturday he would come home
with another belt or two (or three) for me to try. He was always looking for things for us or
mom or his grandchildren.
Another thing Dad loved to do was fish…maybe partly because
it reminded him of fishing as a young boy in Finland. When we were kids, he would have all us girls
hunt for worms in the yard, then pile us all in the car and head to a riverbank
somewhere to spend the day fishing. We
all had turns holding the rods…but I think most of the time we just played
while he fished. We did fishing derbies
at Mill Lake, crab fish at white rock beach, and even took his little rowboat
out into the ocean. When I married Mike
and he showed interest in fishing, Dad was so excited to take him out and show
him the ropes. When they got back, I
heard Dad insisted on piggybacking Mike across the fast-moving river so he
wouldn’t get his shoes wet. But that
was Dad, always wanting to teach us, help us, and show us the things he loved.
A huge part of who Dad was, was being an artist. After retiring, he was eager to delve back
into painting. His love of art had been
a part of his life since he was a small boy, drawing with pencils in his
bedroom…and has turned into something so much more. He went from creating amazingly beautiful
landscapes to producing flawless portraits, all on his own. With each new piece of art he presented to
us, we were just in awe. We will treasure
these precious works of art forever and are so grateful he was able to print
and publish a book of his artwork…something that had been a lifelong dream of
his.
Dad had a strong, unshakable testimony of God and Jesus
Christ his Savior. We all know that any
chance he got, he was deep in a spiritual discussion. He studied, he prayed, he pondered, and his
mind was always on things of eternity. I read a line in my grandma Kurki’s history
where she talked about Dad, she said “All of the worldly riotous joys had not
appealed to him” and that was true his whole life. He had an eternal perspective. He didn’t value material things but things of
eternity. I remember years ago when I
was planning my daughter’s baptism and all the details were falling through, I
called home pretty upset and Dad said to me “just remember, the only really
important thing is that she is getting baptized…none of the rest matters”.
As I looked through pictures of dad this past week. I noticed that in almost every picture, he
was holding one of his 16 grandchildren. He
always said how much life the little children brought into his home. When the kids were younger, his specialty was
taking the fussy baby and try to entertain them. He did this with a trip to the cuckoo clock or
propped them on his shoulder to see the bird figurines he had placed around the
house, or to ring the bells with their little feet or for a quick ride in a
bucket or a bowl or something else he created to make them happy. When they got a little older, he taught them
to play chess, to shoot a BB gun, to paint, to fish, to make Finnish food, to
build forts, and even to throw spears.
He taught them about God and the meaning of life. He was an amazing example of life-long
learning and was constantly teaching others as well as himself new things. I’ll never forget when we were teenagers and
he decided he wanted to learn Spanish…so he did! He spent hours studying and practicing and
learned it remarkably well.
As I attempt to conclude this eulogy, I struggle because
there is so much more to dad than these things.
His eyes were the palest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. His smile lit up his whole face. His kindness and friendliness poured out of
him wherever he went. He was so special
and so loved and he will be missed and mourned by so many.
It’s hard to talk about him as a person who “was” and not
“is”. The last time I talked to him and
saw him, he was so full of life. So full
of laughter. So full of love. I will miss his hugs, his funny stories, our
long talks, his silly jokes, and watching all his weird shows on tv with him. I will miss so many things about him. But…I do know…he will live on through
us. His love, his legacy, his influence
will live on forever through us and through our posterity…until we are together
again.
I want to conclude with simple a scripture in John 11:25-26
“I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in
me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die.”
