Husen (Lepisto), Sigrid Aino Maria 89, passed away peacefully with family members at her side on January 15, 2019 at Presence Fox Knoll Assisted Living in Aurora, IL, where she had lived for four and one-half years. Prior to moving to Illinois, Aino was a resident of St. Louis Park, MN for more than fifty years. Aino was born November 15, 1929 in Laurium, MI, to Pastor Antti and Sigrid (Hakola) Lepisto. She graduated from Denfeld High School in Duluth, MN, received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) in 1951, and a Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 1968. Aino taught fourth and fifth graders in elementary schools in Lakefield and Windom, MN, and then in 1961 she began a 32-year career as a Reading Consultant/Specialist in the Minnetonka Public School District. She retired in 1993. Aino was active in many professional reading organizations and served in leadership roles in the Minnesota Reading Association, the Twin Cities Area Reading Council, and the Minnesota Academy of Reading. Between 1995 and 2001, Aino became an ELCA Global Mission volunteer and made five, six-month mission trips where she taught English to Evangelical Lutheran Church pastors and church lay workers in Namibia, Africa. Aino was a devoted member of Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis MN, where she served on many committees and sang in the choir. Aino was preceded in death by her father and mother, her brothers Antti and Veikko, and her sister Helmi Sisko (Hammer). She is survived by her son Paavo Husen, her daughter-in-law Julia Husen, her daughter Maria Perez, her son-in-law Anthony Perez, her grandchildren Dimitry Husen, Sasha Husen and Aina Perez, her sisters-in-law Karen Lepisto and Jane Lepisto, as well as ten nephews and nieces and their children. A memorial service for Aino will be held at Central Lutheran Church during the Summer of 2019. She will be buried next to her parents at Park Hill Cemetery in Duluth. Memorial donations may be made in Aino's name to the Antti and Sigrid Lepisto Endowed Scholarship at Finlandia University in Hancock, MI.

Published on February 17, 2019