Locals
A Talented Couple: John and
Pauline Kiltinen - Sylvia Kinnunen
It's difficult for
John and Pauline Kiltinen to find a free afternoon or evening; they
are such busy people.
John Kiltinen was born in Marquette to Eva and Chester
Kiltinen, she a nurse and he a teacher, both devoted members of St.
Mark's Lutheran Church.
The year before Dr. Kiltinen graduated from John D. Pierce
High School, he attended a National Science Foundation Summer Pre-College
Institute at Northern Michigan College where he met a lovely young
lady from Shawano, Wisconsin. Pauline Hilma Fenton became his bride
six years later.
Kiltinen earned his B.A. from Northern Michigan University
and went directly into a graduate program in mathematics, getting
his Ph.D in 1967. In the meantime, Pauline had been busy also, graduating
from the University of Wisconsin and continuing to get her M.A. in
French and English from Duke University. They then moved to Minnesota
where he taught at the university for four years, while she taught
at Hamline University for a few years and then at Breck Preparatory
School.
In the fall of 1971 they made their next, and probably
last, move to Marquette this time with a brand new baby, Eric John,
in their arms much to the delight of his parents and two aunts Amanda
Kiltinen and Martha Wiljanen. Little Eric was the first of his generation
to be born into the family.
So eight years after graduating from NMU, Kiltinen was
back as a member of the faculty. He worked long hours and provided
one-on-one help to many of his students. His leadership qualities
were soon recognized not only in the Math Department but by the entire
faculty, for they elected him President of the NMU Chapter of the
American Association of University Professors in 1980.
When the Seaborg Center was in the planning stages, Kiltinen
was designated to chair the committee and later he was appointed the
first acting director of the Center. For those who may not remember,
Glenn Seaborg, an Upper Peninsula native, was one of the key people
involved in the discovery of plutonium (he even has an element named
after him) and was named the co-recipient of a Nobel Prize. It is
fitting that a U.P. native have a science building named in his honor
especially because he thought deeply about education, serving on the
Commission on Education, which published "A Nation at Risk."
One of the first big grant-funded projects through the
Seaborg Center was the administration of the Michigan Mathematics
Early Placement Test, modeled after the Ohio test, which was given
to all high school students on behalf of all 15 state universities.
The test, which helped students decide what math courses they should
take in college, was well received, but the governor later chose to
delete its funding.
Kiltinen was the editor of the Michigan Section of the
Mathematical Association of America for ten years. Now he represents
the Michigan Section of MAA on the national Board of Governors. Naturally,
his title is Governor! It is worth noting that this was not an appointive
position but that he was elected to it by his peers.
He was called upon by the Wisconsin-Upper Peninsula Synod
of the Evangelical Church in America to serve as Dr. John X. Jamrich's
replacement to serve on the Board of Trustees of Carthage College.
This responsibility he faithfully and ably fulfilled for ten years.
Now back to math. He will have a sabbatical for the 2000-2001
academic year which he is going to devote to writing a book designed
to accompany some software which he developed for and used in an advanced
math course, Abstract Algebra. He will be teaching part-time in order
to keep testing materials prior to the book's publication. (I dare
say it will not be a coffee table book.)
And what has Mrs. Kiltinen been doing professionally in
addition to teaching French and English? She has assumed some rather
difficult tasks and chaired some time-consuming committees. For example,
she now chairs the self-study committee required to collect data prior
to a North Central Association Accreditation visit. Gwinn High School
will be visited next year. She also chaired the Gwinn Schools Professional
Development Committee which helped guide the adjustment to the severe
drop in enrollment which resulted from the closing of K.I. Sawyer.
Just recently, her students taking French hosted a high
school group from La Sarre, Quebec who are studying English at their
school. This cross-cultural exchange has occurred a half-dozen times
with Gwinn students spending two four-day weekends in La Sarre and
the Canadians being here four times.
The Kiltinens have been involved in many civic activities
over the years.
For example, Pauline was helpful in getting Kajaani, Finland;
named as Marquette's sister city. She was a member of the Sister City
Committee, serving as its chair for several years. She went to Kajaani
to familiarize herself with the city and to communicate, not only
with city fathers, but with residents as well.
John served on several fund raising committees: The Marquette
Sesquicentennial Committee which raised about a quarter of a million
dollars for the construction of the new pavilion at Presque Isle;
the committee which raised funding for the renovation of Kaufman Auditorium;
and going farther back, the Marquette Senior High School Band and
Orchestra Booster Club which found the funding for new uniforms.
Music has always been an important part of their lives.
The very year when they came to Marquette, they helped organize the
Marquette Choral Club. In fact, the by-laws were fashioned when a
group of like-minded men and women sat around in their living room.
As might be expected, they are both involved with planning
the Community Concert Series, bringing great talent to our community.
John has been an officer in the Community Concert group for many years
and now is serving as its treasurer.
The people of St. Mark's Lutheran Church rely heavily
on the skills of both of them. He sings in the choir and is the financial
secretary. She has been the church organist for years (a mighty fine
one!) playing for two services each Sunday and accompanying the choir.
Pauline wrote a new liturgy, "Liturgy of Joy," which is
used on special occasions; and together they organize and lead the
Finnish-African Gospel Mass perhaps a half dozen times each year.
The mass which has the repetitive, rhythmic melodies of Africa and
the antiphonal singing of the cantor and the congregation is accompanied
by Pauline on the piano and as much as a dozen musicians. No one will
forget when their son played with such gusto that the congregation
broke into smiles, then laughter, and then applause.
They serve the broader church as well. She was a member
for many years of the ELCA Wisconsin-Upper Peninsula Synod Professional
Preparation Committee which oversees the lengthy process that leads
to the ordination of the clergy. The committee proved to be a very
rewarding one but also one which required some hard choices to be
made as seminary students tried to define their goals for the future.
In a somewhat similar vein, she is a member of the Steering Committee
for the Northern Great Lakes Synod Lay School for Missions. There
are now three education centers: in Ishpeming, Dollar Bay and Iron
Mountain. Students take several courses each semester over a period
of two years or more preparing themselves to be temporary pastors
in rural churches which don't have a regular pastor or to serve more
effectively in their own churches in some capacity.
Their ethnic heritage is of great interest to the Kiltinens.
When he had a sabbatical in the late seventies, he taught in universities
in both Joensuu and Tampere, Finland. He taught math, of course, mainly
in English with an interpreter on hand in case one was needed; but
Kiltinen did deliver some of his lectures in Finnish. His wife, meanwhile,
was busy teaching English and French, usually in adult education situations
They enjoyed meeting many people, and still stay in touch
with some of them. No two cultures are exactly alike; Pauline was
especially surprised to see mothers bundle up their little babies,
put them in their buggies and push them outside for their nap—even
in the winter!
Both of them are involved in a variety of Finnish-American
activities in this country. Dr. Kiltinen is on the national Board
of Directors for the planning of the annual Finn Fests. It was due
to this position that he traveled to Sudbury, Ontario just a few weeks
ago to help them computerize the registration process for this year's
Finn Fest to be held in Toronto in July.
Pauline is the secretary of the Finnish Council of Suomi
College which meets annually at the soon-to-be Finlandia University
in conjunction with the Sibelius Academy Music Festival. The function
of the Council is to provide the administration with input concerning
the directions in which it is moving. She is also the vice president
of the Upper Peninsula Chapter of the League of Finnish American Societies
which has as its major goal the preservation of Finnish-American culture.
These are busy people as you can see, but they must have
some leisure just-for-fun pursuits. They do. They walk. Pauline knits
baby sweaters for friends and for former students. She does crossword
puzzles and reads when she has time. She is an active member of Delta
Kappa Gamma. And John? He "plays" on his computer. He doesn't
go into chat rooms nor play solitaire, but he spends a lot of time
doing graphics for his many projects. Of course, they both enjoy e-mail,
which enables them to keep in frequent touch with their son who is
working to find food and shelter for the homeless near Chicago.
When asked if Pauline was a good cook, they both gave
a whoop of laughter, but then he said protectively that she doesn't
have time for it. Marquette has many fine restaurants and some frozen
dinners are quite palatable. She said that he is the breakfast cook,
but that she can make pretty good viilia, the Finnish form of yogurt.
What a couple!
—Sylvia Kinnunen
