Aunt Hilma Hakanen

This is a photo of my granddads older sister, Hilma. She was the second of the siblings to immigrate. She spent most of her working life in New York City. She was a maid and nanny for well-to-do families. Aunt Edith said she married for a short time but her husband beat her and took all her savings. We have no information about him or how long she was married. She came to live with the Hakanen's when I was a boy. She was ill with cancer and died there. I remember when we found her in bed, Uncle Elmer held a mirror to her nose to determine if she was breathing. That impressed me very much, I was 14. Years later I used the mirror when we found my step-dad, Bud, on the chair in the living room. The things you learn and remember!