Anna Tuulikki Manninen
February 22nd, 2017
Our beloved Wife, Mother, Sister, Aunt and Mummo, Anna Tuulikki Manninen, nee Paananen, passed away on February 22, 2017, at the age of 70, after a long courageous battle with cancer.
Anna was born in Viitasaari, Finland in 1946, the second of four children. She moved to Canada in 1959, first settling in the large Finnish community in Sudbury, Ontario. She moved to British Columbia in 1965. After raising her children in Langley, she moved to Vancouver, then to Terrace, before finally settling in Chilliwack.
Anna’s working career was in retail sales. She owned and operated a children’s clothing store in Langley, and later worked for Sears and Daniadown Quilts. Like her mother, she was an excellent seamstress. She made a lot of clothes for her children when they were young, and when her only grandchild Emma came along; she once again had someone to create outfits for. Her passion was her family. She was the organizer of all family events and always remembered everyone’s birthday by mailing a card.
She is survived by: her husband, Esko Manninen; her daughter, Elaine Harley, her husband David and their daughter Emma; her son, Rick Valtee and his wife Heather; and her three siblings Helena Salovaara, Jouko Paananen and Jari Paananen, as well as three nieces and three nephews and their children.
Special thanks to the caregivers at the Palliative Care Center at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre for making her last days as comfortable as possible.
The family will be having a private service. In lieu of flowers, Anna's family asks that you make donations to the BC Cancer Foundation.
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence for the family.
To the Manninen and Paananen Families: I send to you, Anna's family, my sincere condolences on your loss of this gracious lady. My name will no doubt be unfamiliar, so by way of explanation: I was a child when I first met Anna, who worked as a clerk in my father's business, Jericho Pharmacy, in Vancouver, in the 1960's. She was held in high regard by my parents. Anna was unfailingly friendly and kind to me, and my happy memories of her cheerfulness and professionalism stay with me to this day, as do also my many fond memories of her highly accomplished mother. With my deep sympathy, Susan Tha