1913 – 2003

NORWAY – Niilo Suomela, 90, of North Hill Road, Buckfield, died Dec. 30, in the comforting atmosphere of the Norway Rehabilitation and Living Center.

He was born in Fitchburg, Mass., on Sept. 20, 1913, the son of Mikael Bernhard Suomela, and Iida Fransiina Ansio, Finnish immigrants. He and his family moved to Maine, where he was a student at the little one-room schoolhouse on Patch Mountain.

As a young man, he worked in the Maine woods, moving to Connecticut just prior to World War II where he worked for various hardware companies, finally retiring from the Emhart Corporation.

In Connecticut, he built a home for his family, almost single-handedly and with no experience. He continued to come back to Maine for summer vacations and holidays. He was a master woodworker, turning out items of furniture and picture frames in his spare time.

True to his Finnish heritage, he never found a project he wouldn’t tackle and was meticulous in his craftsmanship. He also enjoyed gardening, working in the woods and hiking and knew instinctively where he was and how to get where he wanted to go. He was still fit enough at age 79 to climb Mt. Katahdin. Upon his retirement, he returned once more to Maine to a family home.

He was a member of the First Congregational Church, South Paris, and the Finnish-American Heritage Society of Maine.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Eleanor of Buckfield; a daughter, Janet Compton and her husband David also of Buckfield; a granddaughter, Kirstii Compton of Vernon, Conn.; a sister-in-law, Laila Suomela of Norway; and nephews, Richard, John and Walter Suomela of Norway and Michael Suomela of Topsham. He was predeceased by two brothers, Waino and Yrj. He was an honest and humble man.

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