George Hautanen

Yrjö (George) Väino Hautanen, 73, of South Porcupine, ON, passed away peacefully at home on January 3rd, 2022 after a brave battle with pancreatic cancer. George was born in Alahärmä, Finland on June 11th, 1948 and moved to Canada with his parents at age 9. As a young man George was an avid car enthusiast and talented mechanic. After marrying the love of his life Margaret in 1969 he attended George Brown College in Toronto, ON for carpentry. He worked as a site superintendent for Acme Construction in Sudbury, ON for 13 years before accepting the position of Construction Safety Inspector wth the Ministry of Labour in Timmins, ON in 1985 where he worked until retirement. George was a talented mechanic, carpenter, artist and gardener. He raced motocross as a young man and later built and raced stock cars. He loved to ride the open road on his Harley and the snowy trails on his snowmobile. He built his own house at Barber’s Bay as well as countless projects for his family. In his later years, George developed an interest in cooking, making Friday Night Pizza Night a ritual with his home made dough and sauce. He was considerate, knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour. His family called him “A Legend”. He was their hero. He was an attentive partner to his wife Margaret and a loving, present father and friend to his son Jeff and daughter Cindy. George is survived by his wife Margaret (nee Ward), children Jeff (Tracy) of Arnprior, ON and Cindy (Kip) of Thunder Bay, ON; grandchildren Nick (Abby), Rylie (Paul), Violet, and Aja; sisters Maija Suullinen and Valma Saksala of Finland; mother-in-law Rose Ward; sister-in-laws Carmelle (Ron) Laforest, Helene (late Rod) Myers; brother-in-laws John (Kathleen) Ward and Denis (Sue) Ward. He also leaves behind many nieces and nephews in Finland, Canada and the US as well as special connections with Blair, Beverly, Cailey, Aliesha, Mija MacDonald and Andrew Bekooy. Also his friend Roger Fontaine. George was preceded in death by his parents Aini and Raphael of Alahärmä, Finland and by his brother Lauri Härsilä of Finland. The family would like to thank Dr. Paul Armstrong of Timmins, Dr. Emack of Sudbury and the TDH staff who cared for George during his battle with cancer this past year. A special thank you to the Bayshore nurses for the quality of care given to him and his family while at home. A celebration of Life is planned for June 11th, 2022. In lieu of flowers, make this Friday night Pizza Night for you and your family. He would have liked that. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-pizza-crust-recipe