Eeva S Oliver

Jan 16th 1917 – Apr 4th 2013

“A daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and very dear friend”

Mrs. Eeva Oliver was born Eeva Siukonen on January 16, 1917. In Iitti Finland. She was born to Yrjo Siukonen, a professional grand pipe organist, and Kirsti (Kiiskinen) Siukonen, mother of five. Her siblings, all listed in order of birth, were three brothers, Lauri, Paavo, and Eero, and two sisters, Ilta and Kaisa. Lauri died at the age of two before Eeva was born. All her siblings preceded her in death.

Eeva was sent away from home to boarding school at the age of 11. This was a vulnerable age and a very frightening experience for her to leave home, but she succeeded eventually graduating from school in Lahti, Finland and with a degree in Music at the Sebelius Academy in Finland in her early 20s.

Her family name was synonymous with music, famous for their music talents. Eeva’s talent was her vocal ability, her beautiful voice. She taught herself to play the piano well enough to support her vocal skills. She performed professionally as a soprano concert vocalist in Finland singing a variety of European classical music.

There was nothing Eeva could not learn and perform for the challenge at hand. A proficient sheet music reader, if it sat in the music stand of a piano, she could sing and play it. She was her own worst critic derived from her extensive formal training and experience, ear for pitch, and learned music technique.

At 25 years old she left Finland for Munich, Germany. This was during World War II. She performed for audiences including our allies in West Germany. She studied and learned German Lieder Music for her performances there.

It was there she met her life mate, Burton Leland Oliver in early 1945. Burt was an Electrical Engineer and Captain in the US Army during WW2. Among many duties, he served under General George Patton, providing civil work to design, implement, and oversee the construction of wartime camps. Challenges included keeping critical supply lines of fuel open in a challenging environment from the sea ports to the fuel stations.

Eeva was staying with a West German host family at this time. The master of the house was a West German officer working in the post-war era for the Americans. Four engineers were invited to dinner and entertainment in which Eeva was performing. Eeva and Burt talked late into the evening, that included a romantic dance in the parlor. Burt then left to Eeva’s belief that he was just a wonderful memory, never to be seen again.

Wartime with the German Nazis reached its highest level of action while she was there maintaining her music performances. Now living on her own, she had the entire wall blown off of the apartment building she was living in, Munich relatively protected up until then.

She endured the war, as it had ended in November 1945. Burt returned a year from the date they met and located her through the host family that introduced them, and they told him where she was performing.

Burt went to see her perform, greeted her, and came back night after night and saw the same performance over and over again. After several nights of this, her fondness of him, and her guarded position allowed the trust to grow, she allowed him to come back to her apartment room after a performance.

Supplies were still unavailable to many of this war torn nation, and she was not a priority as a foreigner, so no food was available for her to buy. She was picking mold off of bread to reveal the good portions remaining. He recognized this, and immediately went into action in the provider role. He acquired an ice box for her, and got a block of ice. He then went out and got a deer, butchered it for meat, and more food variety followed. She was able to eat properly once again, and the inseparable bond ensued.

Burt returned to the United States in 1947, and brought Eeva back to the States shortly after. They were married in Duluth Minnesota, and located in Kansas City Missouri. They chose to live in the beautiful Paseo Boulevard area of Kansas City. Her love for music never waned in these Kansas City years, spent working at Jenkins Music, then UMKC, first in the cataloguing department for five years before finally moving to the Conservatory of Music as a highly valuable librarian. It was there she created the entire card catalog system, assisted students with answers to any questions they had with her vast and extensive knowledge, and taught voice lessons.

Eeva warmly accepted two children from a previous marriage, Douglas Leland Oliver and Mary Ellen Oliver born 1930 and 1940 respectively. Burt and Eeva’s first child was born in November 1949, George Burton. When he was two years old, he fell from the second floor balcony in the apartment building they were living, into a bed of flowers. It was then they felt they had to move and decided on Raytown, Missouri, an eastern up and coming suburb of the Kansas City area. Their second and last son was born in 1957, William Paavo. They lived out their lives together until Burt passed in 1979.

Eeva remained in the Raytown area until she moved to Gainesville Missouri in 1994. Burton did civil engineering work in the early 60s in Gainesville and loved the area. Through these years they also owned wooded acreage and a cabin affectionately called “The Farm”. They planted thousands of pine trees there during the 60s.

Eeva remained in Gainesville until it was inevitable that she needed a closer level of care. With a desire for continued independence, George provided her with her own home in Castle Rock Colorado in 2005. She enjoyed the new life and continued independence until a high Colorado gust of wind blew her down and broke her arm in 2010.

George elevated her level of care and moved her to Valley House, a Castle Rock Colorado senior assisted-living facility, and it was there that she lived out her years, making many new friends.

Eeva Oliver passed on April 4th, 2013. She is survived by her two sons, George and William, their wives Karen and Janet, 15 grandchildren, and 25 great grandchildren. Eeva has always had a strong faith in God and Jesus Christ, reading the Bible cover to cover in these last years of her life.

As your children, we love you, Mom. She was also a mother to many, including her students, and her children’s’ endeared friends, all through life. Mom, you will be sorely missed. We know however you will be our guardian angel for the rest of our years on this busy earth, until we are blessed to be reunited with you one day, once again.

If you would like to speak to Eeva, simply look up and talk out loud. She is listening.