In this series, FAR highlights the behind-the-scenes work of those folks who we know well, but not as well as they deserve. These are the folks who have surely earned fanfare, but don't crave it. They prefer to do what they do while staying out of the spotlight. To nominate someone as a Featured Finn, email the editor at david.maki@finlandiafoundation.org.
Lillian Hoika
Submitted by Julie Soinila
I am pleased to nominate a remarkable Finnish woman who is 87 years young. Her name is Lillian Hoika, a first-generation Finn born in rural South Dakota to Finnish immigrant parents in Hamlin County where she attended elementary school in a one room schoolhouse. After graduating from high school in 1957 and lacking a lot of resources (but not passion!), she first attended Suomi College (Finlandia University) in Hancock, Michigan. From there, she attended California State College at Fullerton, and then Whittier College (also in California), graduating in 1961 with her BA degree and teacher's credential.
As an educator, she taught in California Public Schools as well as International Schools. She also taught young Navajo students in the State of New Mexico. After teaching for several years, Lillian held various management and Executive Director positions in California with educational institutions and non profit organizations in Humboldt, Mendocino, and Lake Counties. Throughout her lifetime, she embraced the spirit of community involvement and volunteerism, values instilled in her from her upbringing in South Dakota. This led to her commitment to community organizing and participation and in recognition of her many contributions, she was the recipient of awards and accolades over her career. After retiring in 2000, she concentrated on genealogical research, prompting travels to Finland and Norway to meet extended family. Her newly discovered "cousins" responded by visiting her in California.
As a single woman in the late 1960's and while living and working in Humboldt County, Lillian purchased close to 200 acres of raw, unimproved land in the rugged, wooded mountains just west of the town of Ukiah in Mendocino County. She basically homesteaded this land and for several years prior to building a permanent home on a choice hilltop site, Lillian would visit her land and camp in a tent to enjoy the serene, remoteness, and rugged beauty it afforded. In 1974 she began to develop this rural homestead. She had a home built first, a lovely yurt with a cabin feel that included warm interior wood paneling, a composting toilet, and a wood burning stove for heat and a separate guest yurt. Next came the sauna (a must for any self-respecting Finn!). The sauna was mere steps from the yurt, down a little tree-lined path. Thus, her retirement dreams were realized.
At 80, Lillian decided it was time to sell her beloved property in Mendocino County where she had lived for over 40 years. It was a difficult but necessary decision to leave behind her beloved land, her lovely yurt, and her cherished sauna, but it was "time." She relocated to the small town of Las Vegas, New Mexico in 2019.
A couple of months ago at age 87, Lillian embarked on her latest "adventure", a solo road trip all the way from the southern end of New Mexico to British Columbia in Canada. Her destination was Victoria, B.C., a city she had visited in her youth.
What I initially learned about Lillian after meeting her in 2009 (she is 14 years my senior), is her zest for life (which is positively infectious), her independent nature and her ability to connect with people. She is a proud Sami Finn with a deep appreciation of her Finnish ancestry who has been instrumental in connecting me to my own "Finnishness." She embodies the spirit of sisu in so many ways. She's small but mighty, fiercely independent, and very resilient, having weathered many upheavals and challenges in her life. She is a civic-minded volunteer, a community organizer, and a passionate activist for peace and social justice causes. Lillian has faithfully attended many Finn Fests over the years, and while she's Finnish to the core, she warmly embraces the wider world, its peoples, and cultures.
Incredibly, at age 87, Lillian remains an intrepid adventurer. When I say Lillian is 87 years young, that is not hyperbole. She has not stopped living, learning, and challenging herself. Her "special power" I think, is as a community builder, a person capable of connecting with people and bringing people together. Through her own example and the way she has lived her life with humility and deep humanity, curiosity, and openness, Lillian is an inspiration and has endeared herself to many people over the years (myself included). Lillian's "life-force" and generosity of spirit naturally reverberates in others!