Siv Finkler

Siv Torborg Evelyn Nyman Finkler passed away on June 7, 2021, in Stillwater, Minnesota after a life filled with love and adventure. Siv was a mother to all, with the ability to make people and flowers alike bloom and grow in the love, beauty, and kindness she so generously shared during her nearly 87 years on this earth. Born in Sweden on July 10, 1934, Siv’s love of adventure and movie stars led her to America in the late 1950’s. On a blind date she met Jordan, an improbable match that turned into a life-long love and partnership. For 55 years Siv and Jordan lived in what Siv often called the “absolute paradise” of Huntington Beach, California, raising their two children, Lindy and Marcus, between its strawberry fields and ocean, and along with a wonderful group of neighbors and friends, celebrated life’s many joys and mourned its occasional sorrows. Following Jordan’s passing, Siv moved to Minnesota to live with and near Lindy and her family as Alzheimer’s relentless toll progressed.

Siv’s physical beauty was apparent to all, but as anyone who knew her can attest, it was Siv’s inner beauty that shone the brightest. One of Siv’s favorite sayings was “be as good as you can every day” all the while acknowledging that goodness comes easier on some days than others. Siv knew many challenges in her life, but never lost her sense of optimism or gratitude. Two weeks before she died, Siv said, “I am so lucky to be loved. I am so lucky to feel it.” May we all be so fortunate to say the same until the end of our days.

Left to celebrate Siv’s life and to live up her unwavering belief in our potential and infallibility are her beloved children and their spouses, Lindy and Paul Yokanovich of Stillwater, MN, and Marcus and Isabel Finkler of Anaheim, CA, her loved-beyond-measure grandchildren Lila, Nick, Maya, and Ava Yokanovich, and Isabella and Jake Finkler, and her treasured nieces and nephews in Los Angeles, CA, Linda Hirsh, Robert Hirsh, Erin Hirsh, and Cairo Williams. Siv is also survived by her family in Sweden, her dearest friend and cherished sister Gunnel Carlsson, and her husband Bo Carlsson, and their children Johan and Anna and their families, and her ‘lillebror’ Urban Nyman and his children Katarina, Pär, Lotta, and David, and their families.

Siv is predeceased by her husband Jordan W.S. Finkler, whose love for Siv was the stuff of novels, Jordan’s sisters Leonora Finkler and Shirley Hirsh, and her husband Alvin Hirsh, and Siv’s parents Evert and Tora Nyman.

Siv’s family thanks the care team at Oak Park Senior Living, South, with special thanks to Susan, Joana, and Ruthie for their devotion and gentle care, and to Amber Prescott, RN, at St. Croix Hospice for her care and advocacy during Siv’s year in hospice.

Donations in Siv’s memory may be made to Cancer Legal Care 3503 High Point Drive North, Suite 270, Oakdale, MN 55128, http://www.cancerlegalcare.org as it was Siv’s diagnosis with colon cancer in the 1980’s and subsequent decades of challenges with health insurance that were the impetus for the organization’s founding.

Sov gott, kära Mama-Mormor-Farmor. Vi älskar dig.

Gud, som haver barnen kär
se till mig, som liten är.
Vart jag mig i världen vänder,
står min lycka i Gud’s händer.
Lyckan kommer, lyckan går.
Den gud älskar lyckan får.

Private family services have been held.