Airi Aino Foxwell's Obituary
From Katy:
There is something to be said about a mother's love. It is all enduring. Certainly, my mother's love was the greatest gift bestowed upon my life. Mum would oftentimes say to me, "I wouldn't be here without you," and I'd say back, "And I wouldn't be here without you." That is the relationship and partnership we had. We held hands. We held each other's hearts. We often said the same thing at the same moment. In the second that she breathed her last breath, there was a release, her spirit was literally freed from her body that had kept her wracked with pain and suffering. The shell she left was her no longer and I knew then that her true being was released and her spirit was alive. My heavenly mother, the presence of you is in my every moment. Everyone who ever met you was moved by your kindness of spirit. Your gentleness and how you lived your life reflected the prayer of St Francis of Assisi, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love, where there is injury, pardon, where this is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light, and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life." Mum was the embodiment of this prayer, this itself was my mother's journey through life. I was supremely blessed to spend 60 years of my life with her, and from here to eternity. In peace, for all things are in God's Hands, His timing, and in His grace.
From: Christina
To my darling Mummy,
Thank you for giving Katy and I our life.
My first memory is of your beautiful smile, your warm cuddles and your
soft hands stroking my face.
You taught us to be kind, respectful and courageous (sisu).
You gave us our Finnish blood, our sense of family, our spirituality, and
most importantly, you gave us love: pure, unconditional love and we felt
your love every second of every day of our lives.
And you passed all your blessings onto your beloved grandchildren.
You devoted your life to all of us with your beautiful smile and big heart.
You touched the lives of everyone who met you, and without exception,
everyone fell in love with you and felt your love and angelic energy.
You truly were an Angel on this earth, and we have been the luckiest
family to have you as our most precious Mum, Granny, Sister, Auntie,
Daughter and Friend.
And now you have been given your Angel wings to fly to Heaven where
Gramps, Papa, Mama, Eeva and all your family and friends are
welcoming you with open arms.
You live on in our hearts forever.
I love you I love you I love you, my little Angel Mummy xxx
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
My beautiful Granny,
To be your granddaughter has been one of my life’s greatest privileges. I
feel so lucky to have experienced your endless warmth, love and light.
You are the kindest, sweetest and cheekiest soul I’ve ever known and I
pray that I can carry some of your most precious traits with me through
life and be guided by your loving light.
When I’m told that I look like you or that I’m a mini you, it’s the greatest
compliment I could be given. I will always look up to you, admire you and
feel inspired by your strength and kindness.
I have always felt a special and unique bond with you my darling Granny.
A bond like no other. My cheeky partner in crime. From taking care of me
and letting me watch the Tweenies and Mr Blobby countless times on
VHS in Harrow, taking me on the bus in London, feeding me cookies and
banana bread at the early hours of the morning whilst you watched the
news in Maui, feeling so warm and safe sleeping beside you in Kalama
Terrace (and always joking about the little ‘pff’ sound you made when
you slept), all precious childhood moments I remember so vividly and
cherish in my heart.
Then to the later years, where it became our turn to take care of you.
And it was nothing short of an honour to be able to help look after you
after all the love, happiness and care you gave to us. I’ll never forget
helping you dress for Liam and Phillys blessing. Seeing your face light
up when you realised how incredible you looked in your new dress. My
heart felt so full as I did your hair and gently applied your makeup, and it
made me so happy when you asked for more lipstick! You looked so
radiant.
I felt so proud of you, despite your discomfort, you were so beautifully
present at the blessing and overcame tremendous hardships to be there,
with a beaming smile that lit the entire day. We all cherish hearing you
describe the wine as ‘out of this world’ in your adorable little voice. Well
Granny, it’s you who was out of this world. The world will never know a
spirit like yours again.
I often say how much I love that everyone calls you ‘Granny’, because I
think it speaks volumes of your character. You made everyone feel the
warmth and love of a grandmother, and treated everyone you met as if
they were your own. You are and always will be our darling Granny.
The Hawaiian sun will continue to shine brighter than ever, because I
know that you’re smiling in an even greater paradise now. Sweet dreams
my gorgeous Granny, I will always love you. You’re home.
Granny
The most beautiful, selfless soul and the most loving, dedicated mother
and granny.
Granny was courageous and stoic in her journey through life - from
travelling the world to facing hardships. She never stopped going or
fighting.
She was and always will be an inspiration to us.
My granny was warm, unconditionally loving and kind, giving and
everyone’s favourite grandma.
I’ll remember granny by her beaming smile, her infectious laugh, her
great big hugs and her making constant supplies of jam on toast, cakes
and pillow fortresses for us as kids.
Granny wanted us to feel loved and safe and we always did.
Granny to me is home.
A song - Airi
From Uusikaupunki to shores of hawaii
A woman that made life her own
A light in our memory, thank god for her journey
Taking us wherever she goes
Airi, you’ve flown
You’re safe, at home
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the words you embodied more
When you needed strength on your side
Now angels are at your door, you’ll welcome them as you soar
To heaven, our sun in the sky
Airi, you’ve flown
You’re safe, at home
And now you’ve departed, your spirit is one with
The ones that you lost down the line
Sleep easy amongst them, they’ve got back a diamond
A sparkle that will never die
Airi, you’ve flown
You’re safe, at home
When we lived in our little house in Pitshanger, my favourite day of the
week was when Granny came to stay as we would be allowed to have
sleepovers with her on the pullout sofa in the living room, stay up
watching cow and chicken, and she would make dinner for me in the
shed so I could pretend it was my own house. She helped to teach me
how to read, how to use a knife and fork, and how to ride a bike.
In later life, she taught me how to be a Finn, through all the Sisu she
showed throughout her life but in particular the last 10 years where she
combatted her ailments so bravely. Representing Finland was one of the
proudest achievements of my life because I felt so connected to
everything Granny gave to us through her Finnish roots. We will always
remember that Granny, Sisu, and Finland run deep within us.
Finally Granny taught me an awful lot about love, and it is no
coincidence that Philly and I fell in love with one another on the first trip
out to Maui to introduce Philly to Granny.
Granny was the kindest person you could ever wish to meet, and it is
kindness in turn that she has been granted safe passage to Heaven.
See you in the next life, Granny, and thank you for everything.
Liam x
Goodbye to our ''Universal Granny''
She was a loving caring Mum to Tina & Katy and a wonderful Granny to Liam, Brendan and
Alice.
But in reality Granny was everyone's Granny. Every single person who met her felt loved and
cared for. Evryone called her Granny or Granny Airi. It was what she was born to be, Our
Granny. She left a wonderful mark on everybody she met, as has been so evident from all
the beautiful messages we've received since she departed.
God rest you Granny, although I'm sure you're making cups of tea and baking cakes up
there.
We all Love you so much
XXX
What’s your fondest memory of Airi?
What’s a lesson you learned from Airi?
Share a story where Airi's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Airi you’ll never forget.
How did Airi make you smile?