Aune M. Kondrad

1915 - 2016

NEW HAMPTON – Aune M. Kondrad of New Hampton, passed away peacefully Wednesday, June 22, 2016, four days after her 101st birthday.  Aune was born on June 18, 1915, in Brooklyn, N.Y. the daughter of Tobias and Elin (Johannson) Wepsalainen she was predeceased by Theodore, her husband of 55 years. She has four children, Karl Kondrad (deceased, Isidra) of Modesto Calif., Kevin Kondrad (Eileen Curran-Kondrad) of New Hampton, Karen Cashen (Jon) of Chicago and Malden Bridge, N.Y. and Kathryn Kondrad (Steve Moose) of Miami. Her grandchildren are Kurt Kondrad of Modesto, Calif., Elisa Huggins of Modesto Calif., Phoebe Paulson of Chicago, Rory Kondrad of Concord, Mass. and Elin Kondrad (Abraham Nussbaum) of Denver, Colo. She has 11 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. 

As a child, Aune spent her kindergarten year in Finland where her mother journeyed to visit family. Aune's father, also from Finland, was a carpenter who helped build the brownstone houses of Brooklyn. 

 In 1933 Aune graduated from Bay Ridge High School, Brooklyn, N.Y. and attended Brooklyn ­­­­­­­­­College for a semester before leaving to help with family finances during The Depression. She was an executive secretary at The Sweetheart Soap Company of Manhattan until her marriage to Theodore in 1940. Aune and Theodore raised their four children, Karl, Kevin, Karen and Kathryn in Garden City and Merrick, N.Y.

Aune's stamina and mental sharpness were well known to family, friends and neighbors. She was familiar with and exemplified sisu, the Finnish term for grit and tenacity. Until a month before her 101st birthday she cooked her own meals and paid her own bills. After completing two crossword puzzles in the morning she would settle in to read current fiction from the Gordon-Nash Library, New Hampton where she was a patron and supporter.

She will be greatly missed by family and friends.

Memorial services will be Friday, July 1, at 10 a.m. at the Mayhew Funeral Home, 204 Daniel Webster Hwy, Meredith.

Donations in her name may be made to the Gordon-Nash Library, 69 Main St., New Hampton, NH 03256. 

The Mayhew Funeral Home and Meredith Bay crematorium are assisting the family with arrangements.  To view Aune's online book of memories go to mayhewfuneralhomes.com.