Aili Edit Kinnunen

Country of Origin: Finland
Ship Name: Caronia, Cunard
Date of Arrival: April 21, 1929

My grandmother, Ms. Aili Edit Kinnunen, at the age of 28 set sail for Canada. She arrived at the Port of Halifax in 1929 on the Caronia, Cunard Line. She was the daughter of Pekka Kinnunen and Anna Hentunen. She was born in 1901 and according to records in Ltranta, Finland. She would marry my grandfather, Martti. My grandmother was a university graduate. She completed her first degree in Medical Gymnastics. She completed her Masters in 1928 from the University of Helsinki as a Teacher of Gymnastics. Her academic records have been retrieved from the university and demonstrate that she was an excellent student with high grades. She was a graduate in Flands Ghymnastiklarare. She was registered with the Finnish Physical Culture.

Ms. Laatunen nee Kinnunen settled in Montreal with her husband and only son, Gunnar Poju. Mrs. Laatunen ran a successful small business at 117 St. Catherine Street West in Montreal as the owner of a Finnish physical fitness centre/sauna. She became a widow in 1957 with the passing of her husband. A real pioneer with her hard work ethic and her generous spirit have made her a life-time role model for her grand-daughter, Nancy.

Her passage to Canada and her experiences are not well documented The only witness is with her trunk that remains within the family.. There are no photos of her on the ship. She was the daughter of a land-owner and politicican in Finland and yet chose to explore the new frontier of Canada. She loved Canada and her life in Montreal. A life time traveller she returned to Finland to vist relatives. One of her legacy's was her love of the English language and her collection of both Canadian and Shakespeare books remains with the family. Her late nephew, Edward Quist, son of her late sister who followed her to Canada commented a year before his death to Aili's granddaughter " that she was the kindest most generous soul he had ever met". The family does not know much about her passage to this country but her friends and her reputation in Montreal as a sincere hard working small business owner show her commitment to community and her family.

She was very proud of her only son, Gunnar, a McGill Commerce graduate. She instilled a love of Finnish culture and language in him and as a result by the age of five Gunnar was multilingual in- Finnish, French and English. A late family friend, Camille Reid, told her granddaughter, Nancy that "Aili Edit Kinnunen was a remarkable and generous woman and they did not make them any better". Her four grandchildren and five great granchdildren did not know her and that was their loss as she passed away in 1960. Her grandchildren were too young to benefit from her experience. She is buried in Montreal Cemetary next to her husband. In a time where she was from a good family she decided to travel to a foreign country and despite the hard years at first made an excellent life for herself and her family. As an indpendent tough minded woman she never forgot the importance of family, community, culture and charity. She was a member of Finnish groups in Montreal.

This story has been lovingly prepared by her granddaughter, Nancy, in honour of her father's 75th birthday.