On Oct. 31, Elliot Lake resident celebrated her centennial birthday at the Faith Lutheran Church surrounded by friends and family. Nelma Sillanpaa was all smiles with happy tears to be surrounded by such love and affection.
Speeches of congratulations as well as birthday gifts, and of course cake, were presented to her. Keynote speaker, as well as her son, Lennard Sillanpaa, was present to help celebrate his mother. He said his mother has achieved quite a bit with her time.
“It’s such a special day for her,” he said. “She’s sacrificed so much and has been through even more that it’s nice to recognize all she has done.”
Born in 1917 in Warren, Ohio, the family migrated to the Algoma District when she was only four years old. During this time, her family worked in the bush camps and lived in Cochrane as well as Timmins.
Her husband, Paul, served in the Second World War for five years overseas. After his term, they got married. The couple moved to Elliot Lake in 1960. In 1975, Paul passed away.
“My father helped set up the letter carrier services here,” he explained. “He passed away after his health deteriorated.”
After the loss of her husband, Sillanpaa decided to create a local chapter of the Kidney Foundation and has dedicated time and effort to raise funds for residents suffering from kidney disease. Because of this, the organization was able to bring a kidney dialysis machine to the local hospital.
“This right here is what she enjoyed doing,” he said. “That’s her. She loves helping people. And even though she’s now a resident of Huron Lodge, she’s still helping.”
On top of this achievement, Sillanpaa was able to publish a book in 1994, entitled Under the Northern Lights: My Memories of Life in the Finnish Community of Northern Ontario.
Not only was she recognized as the birthday girl from friends and family, she was also recognized outside of the community. Letters of congratulations were displayed by Ontario Premiere Kathleen Wynne, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Governor General of Canada and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She was also given a letter of congratulations by Elliot Lake mayor Dan Marchisella. He was also present to help celebrate her birthday.
Paula Hoggett said it was nice to see many faces helping her aunt celebrate her birthday.
“Today, we celebrate her,” she said. “She’s a wonderful woman who has done so much. We’re doing this for her.”