Veikko Tapani (Tapsa) Rissanen.Courtesy of family
Veikko Tapani (Tapsa) Rissanen: Family man. Electrician. Singer. Rock burner. Born Oct. 13, 1943, in Lahti, Finland; died July 3, 2021, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., of lung cancer; aged 77.
Raised in the rural region of Pirkanmaa, Finland, Tapsa loved exploring the forests with his childhood friends. These were times of great adventure, highlighted by the discovery of a box of unused shells left behind after the Winter War (1939-40). Years later, he marvelled that everyone escaped unharmed from an afternoon spent devising novel ways to ignite live ammo.
Tapsa trained as an electrician and moved to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., in 1966. Later that year, at a party hosted by mutual friends, Tapsa met Anja, and they were married in May, 1967. He spent his career in the Soo, eventually operating his own electrical contracting firm for almost three decades before retiring in 2011. In the early 1980s, he worked briefly in the Yellowknife gold mines, where he used leftover building materials to create a sauna so he and his co-workers could relax after a long workday.
He was a quiet man but had a way with the words he chose to use. When a diplomat at the Canadian embassy asked what he would do if unable to secure work in Canada, Tapsa replied, “The planes fly in both directions.” While enjoying a sauna with someone new to the experience who commented that it was very hot, he said: “Hate like hell to get into a cold sauna,” and threw another scoop of water onto the rocks.
Tapsa never missed an opportunity to support the Finnish community and sang in Sault Ste. Marie’s Kaleva Finnish Men’s Choir for over 50 years. A highlight of this time was performing across Finland on many occasions.
Tapsa never missed an opportunity to support the Finnish community and sang in Sault Ste. Marie’s Kaleva Finnish Men’s Choir for over 50 years.Courtesy of family
His days began and ended with coffee and something to satisfy his sweet tooth. He liked action movies but had a comical dislike for the actor Steve Martin. He wore Porky Pig neckties to Christmas dinner and won more board games than he lost. He could be relied on to always help a friend but he could be stubbornly resistant to change: Anja knew that if she suggested a home renovation project, Tapsa would eventually agree after dwelling on it for a few months. He was a skilled craftsman and would combine his vast technical abilities with thoughtful personal touches to build beautiful things. Wooden piggybanks made for family members featured birth year pennies and engraved plaques embedded into the underside. Despite recognizing early on that neither of his sons had much aptitude for this work, he made sure to keep them involved. Whether it was mixing concrete, hauling lumber or piling up firewood, John and Jason knew their roles – follow directions, do the grunt work and try to learn at least something along the way!
Above all, Tapsa was a determined and patient man. In 2005, the family camp needed to be replaced. However, a large outcropping of solid stone stood where one of the new building’s foundation corners would be. Rather than hire a professional, he decided to do it himself. Over several cold months, Tapsa spent weekends building bonfires beside the icy rock face. Eventually, the heat would crack it enough that a fragment could be wiggled free. Many fires later, he had worked the rock to the ground and the camp sits proudly over that spot. At the time, his family thought it amusing that he was “burning the rock,” but the work epitomized much of his character. To rise from humble beginnings to lead a life so rich with family, friends, hobbies and professional success, he had burned the rock his entire life. His grandchildren now continue the tradition, each burning their own rocks as they meet life’s challenges with the same grit displayed by their Pappa.
John Rissanen is Tapsa’s son.
To submit a Lives Lived: lives@globeandmail.com
Lives Lived celebrates the everyday, extraordinary, unheralded lives of Canadians who have recently passed. To learn how to share the story of a family member or friend, go to tgam.ca/livesguide