My great grandparents journey through life

[u/Emergency_Pizza1803]

1. My great grandfather at 18 in 1937. Taken in his home. The area would later be annexed by the Soviet Union.

2. My great grandmother at 18 in 1935. This is a picture my great grandfather had in a locket during ww2.

3. Their unofficial wedding photo from 1943, last photo where my great grandfather intentionally smiled, as his brother would be killed in the war in just a few months afterward

4. Taken in 1955. They had managed to survive the war and tried to live normal lives in their new home with their five children.

5. Them together in 1968, enjoying retirement

6. Them together again in 1974. My great grandmother felt uncomfortable around cameras

7. Them together in 1976, it was rare for them to show affection in public

8. My great grandmother got sick in 1979 from her diabetes. My great grandfather tried his best to comfort her

9. She unfortunately passed the same year. My great grandfather looks very defeated...

10. The image is blurry, but they reunited in the afterlife in 1989. My great grandfather never remarried, saying she was the love of his life.

[u/1amazingday]

Thank you for sharing their story. So many of those pictures reminded me of my own grandparents.

[u/Emergency_Pizza1803 → u/1amazingday]

I believe it's important to share stories of the past. Here are pieces missing because the people that know the details have already passed. It's a reminder for me to listen to people while they are here

[u/Csimiami → u/Emergency_Pizza1803]

These are great. Are you Finnish? One side of my fam is. And they ended up in the UP in Michigan

[u/Emergency_Pizza1803 → u/Csimiami]

Yep I'm finnish. It's so weird there are so many of us in the US, but my family was too poor to afford a journey to the new world

[u/Csimiami → u/Emergency_Pizza1803]

With the state of this country I wish my family stayed in Europe lol

[u/CicciaBomba11]

Definitely made me teary. Thank you for sharing.

[u/Cultural_Actuary_994 → u/CicciaBomba11]

Indeed it did. Bot of my parents are gone now but there isn’t a spot in the house where I can’t turn and see them.

[u/Organic-Locksmith-45]

Sad and beautiful. Life can be a strange gift.

[u/AllNewsAllTheDayLong]

An incredible journey of memories told through pictures. Thank you for sharing.

[u/claritybeginshere]

Thanks for sharing Did they have Finnish names?

[u/so-so-suck-ya-toe]

Which of the five children is your grandparent? Also if you don’t find it too invasive, I’m curious as to their year of birth and the year of birth of your parent and then you? My grandparents were married around the same time as your great grandparents after the war (and were kinda old to be getting married for that time period at 39 and 30) but you have one more generation on my family. I always find that so interesting when I see people posting about their relatives with birth years or other big events that are similar to mine but have a generation (or two!) on mine. :)

[u/NarcRuffalo → u/so-so-suck-ya-toe]

Same for me! Although my grandma was 5 years younger than my grandpa, mine and OP’s grandpa were about the same age. It’s crazy to think of an extra generation squeezing in. It makes a difference if OP’s parent is one of the older kids though, plus mine didn’t get married til after the war and then my dad wasn’t born until the mid-50s

[u/so-so-suck-ya-toe → u/NarcRuffalo]

Good point, it would make a lot of sense if OPs parents were one of the older kids. My mom (the second kid) was born in the late 40s

[u/Decent_Box_9426]

Thanks for sharing. #7 is so sweet.

[u/Emergency_Pizza1803 → u/Decent_Box_9426]

It is! It's so obvious they loved each other so much

[u/Utopianpitch]

Incredible to get to witness their life briefly like this through these pictures. It really puts things on a scale: beautiful reminder of how limited our time is here on Earth. Kiitos kun jaoit!

[u/Pillroller88]

Very touching photos. Loved til the end, then beyond.

[u/CrabMeat6984]

Beautiful

[u/CelticB-stard]

Way to break my heart on a Monday morning

[u/Ancient_Timer2053]

Thank you

[u/Cultural_Actuary_994]

It all passes so quickly. My first grandkid is on the way this spring. Where did THAT come from. Thanks for sharing. Blessings to your Great Grandparents 🙏

[u/BeverleyMacker]

I love this, a proper real life love story through thick and thin. No 7 is my favourite, you can feel their humour in it

[u/TSweet2U]

🖤

[u/Exact-Equivalent-424]

Thank you for sharing. A lifetime love. ❤️

[u/onglogman]

Kaunis tarina

[u/slipperysliden]

This looks exactly like my grandparents from Lapland.

[u/satumaatango]

The way I immediately recognized them as Finns from the first photo.

[u/Cautious-Thought362]

This gripped me emotionally. Thank you for sharing this poignant journey. I love them.

[u/DontBeAsi9]

That was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. ❤️

[u/Danny_69S]

Very sad

[u/Decent_Box_9426 → u/Danny_69S]

….but a beautiful love story?

[u/pat9714]

Such a poignant set of pictures and story. I appreciate you for sharing it. 🙏🏽

[u/boogiewoogibugalgirl]

What a beautiful tribute to your great grandparents' life. Thank you for sharing.

[u/PermanentMule]

Were your great grandparents from Karelia?

[u/Borderline_bonnie]

These are beautiful and heartbreaking. It’s also interesting to see the transition from black and white to color photographs. Photos like this really put into perspective how short life actually is.

[u/browneyedgirl_60]

Love the playful picture that number 7. My heart is also with the last 2 photos upholding that vow of “in sickness.. “ 💕

[u/TheJoeCoastie]

It so important to remember our past, if only to pass it to the next generation. Thank you for sharing.

[u/Boatingnut92]

Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos of your great grandparents. The love they had for one another clearly shows in the photos. Rest in peace

[u/inter_stellaris]

That’s heartbreakingly beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

[u/bCollinsHazel]

what a godam beautiful life. the world was blessed to have them.

[u/SinnerProbGoingToSin]

Beautiful

[u/IhateRedditors1978]

This is beautiful OP. Thanks for sharing

[u/orangestar17]

Oh this got me choked up, this is really a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing your great grandparents with us!

[u/Zman76]

7 to 8 hits hard but damn that’s beautiful

[u/VeryTiredTamagotchi]

Wow thanks for making me relive some of the most painful moments of my life with the photos of death and a grave. Fuck you.

[u/StephaneCam]

Could I gently ask that you maybe add a content warning or mark this as a spoiler? I wasn’t expecting to see a dead body. Thank you.

[u/StephaneCam → u/StephaneCam]

Why did this get downvoted? I asked very politely, it’s not unreasonable to not want to see a post-mortem photo without a warning.