Vilho Majonen

Vilho Majonen April 6, 1936 - April 6, 2009 GUILFORD, VT - Vilho Majonen, 73, died at his home in Guilford, Vermont surrounded by his family on Monday, April 6, 2009 after a long battle with multiple myeloma. He was born in Sortavala, in the former Finnish province of Karelia on April 6, 1936. His parents were the late Hilma Juvonen Majonen and Eino Olavi Majonen. During the Winter War between Russia and Finland Vilho's family was forced to evacuate, and he was sent to Sweden to live with a foster family. After the war was over, Karelia was ceded to Russia, so Vilho returned to Oulu, Finland to live with his reunited family. When he was sixteen, Vilho travelled to America on the M.S. Stockholm to work on his uncle's chicken farm in Moosup, Connecticut. He entered the U.S. Army in 1956 and served as a weapons instructor at Fort Dix and Fort Bragg. He was also stationed in Berlin, Germany for two years. After he returned to Moosup he met his first wife, Lisa Oja, and they married in 1961. He and Lisa had two children, John and Jorma. From the 1960s through the 1980s Vilho worked as a carpenter, building contractor, and roofer, and most recently until his retirement Vilho was the caretaker at the Windham-Tolland 4-H Camp in Pomfret, CT. In 1984 he married Ellen Inkeri Slonski, the love of his life, and they had sixteen wonderful years of marriage. In 2001 Vilho had the opportunity to visit his homeland of Finland, where he got to see his mother and his siblings for the first time in 50 years. In 2002 Vilho moved to Guilford, VT to live with his son, John, and his family. Vilho was predeceased by his wife Ellen and his son, Jorma Majonen. He leaves a son, John Majonen, daughter-in-law, Elly Majonen, and his grandchildren Emma Majonen and Megan Majonen, all of Guilford, VT. He also leaves a step-daughter, Judy Rivers, her boys Justin and Jordan Mongeau, daughter Liliana Baraybar and husband Bill Rivers, all of Mansfield, CT; Vilho's first wife Lisa Liiamaa of Taos, NM; brothers Pertti, Martti, Tapani, and Harri Majonen and their families in Finland; brother Jorma Olofsson and his family in Sweden; sisters Helka Joensuu, Terttu Orava, Airi Tuovinen, and Maire Mahlakaarto and their families in Finland; his foster sister Gun-Mari Lundgren and family of Sweden; and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at St. John Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, CT on Sunday, April 26 at 2 PM. Charitable contributions can be made in Vilho's memory to a local area hospice organization or to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.