Joe Tribute Normal's Obituary
Joe (81), a native of Finland and an active proponent of Finnish-American culture, died July 17, 2010 at his home in Charlestown, R.I., where he resided since his retirement in 1998. He was the husband of Mirja (Ekman) Hanslin.
Mr. Hanslin was born Oct. 17, 1928, in Helsinki, Finland, the son of Emil and Aino (Anttila) Hanslin. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1954 and settled his family in Fitchburg, MA, where he founded Hanslin Travel & Realty Service in 1962, and became actively engaged in the Finnish-American community of greater Fitchburg, promoting Finnish culture, commerce and tourism. Mr. Hanslin purchased Leeman Travel in New York City in 1968 to expand his Finnish tourism business and later moved to New York to build Hanslin Travel and Holiday Tours of America into one of the largest promoters of Finnish tourism in the U.S. In the 1990s, Paul and his wife Mirja permanently settled in Charlestown, R.I. and founded and operated Country Corner Restaurant in Charlestown, R.I. for several years.
Mr. Hanslin belonged to over 20 organizations dedicated to Finnish-American culture and business life in the U.S., having acted as a past president of the Finnish Cultural Center of Fitchburg, general chairman of the New England Finnish-American Bicentennial Committee, and trustee of the Finlandia Foundation. Also during his years in Fitchburg, Mr. Hanslin was the producer and announcer of several Finnish Radio programs at radio station WEIM and a part-time editor of the Finnish newspaper Raivaaja. He proudly served in both the Finnish and U.S. Armies during the early 1950s, demonstrating his dedication to both his native Finland and adopted United States.
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