Maija-Liisa Antis

What a life! Maija-Liisa Klami Antis lived her life to the fullest with her Finnish SISU pushing her through every chapter of her journey. She was born in Helsinki, Finland on March 20, 1928 to Evald and Jenny Klami and passed away in Denver on November 28, 2020 at the age of 92. Her life was full of adventure especially during WWII. Her family home was a rest stop for Finnish soldiers who needed clothing and food and she was also assigned, with other young teenagers, to stand watch on a tower for invading enemy airplanes. Maisa left her home in Klamila, Finland to teach school in Lapland and enjoyed telling the story of how she learned to castrate reindeer there also. Eventually she chose to go to Helsinki to attend nursing school, graduating in 1953 as a public health RN.

Her need for travel continued and she decided to move to America in 1955. Detroit is where she landed and diligently worked on mastering the English language, getting her citizenship and obtaining the appropriate RN license to get to work. She met and married Jack Antis and had 3 daughters while working at Harper Hospital in Detroit.

In 1975 the whole family moved to Colorado. Maisa continued her education obtaining her Gerontological Nurse Practitioner degree in 1986. She continued to improve the lives of her patients at Applewood Nursing Home until her retirement in 1999. After retirement she maintained her passion for life by devoting her time to her children, grandchildren, and talking to her sister on Skype daily. Her whole family also has benefited from her love of crocheting beautiful afghans.

Maija was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Aimo, Esko, and Vello Klami (Kiira). She is survived by her sister Eeva-Marja Tinkanen and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends in Finland. Daughters Lora Marchewitz (Tom), Lisa Antis, and Linda Howard (Jeff), 8 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren, all of Colorado, will miss her greatly and carry on her amazing memory. Donations may be made to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure or American Diabetes Association in lieu of flowers.