Helvi Kissala, Finland’s oldest living person, dies at 110
The Gerontology Research Group is saddened to report news that Mrs. Helvi Dagmar Kissala, the oldest living person in Finland, sadly died in Mänttä-Vilppula, Pirkanmaa, Finland on 12 June 2024 at the age of 110 years, 230 days.
Helvi Kissala was born in Mänttä, Pirkanmaa, Russian Empire (present-day Mänttä-Vilppula, Finland) on 26 October 1913. Her parents were Johannes and Eiffa Leppänen.
In 1939, she married Niilo Mikael Helenius. The couple had two children; daughter Ritva and a son Toini. She was widowed in 1959. In 1967, she married Heino Kissala. Throughout her life, she had various jobs, including working as a cowherd, a housewife, and a factory cleaner. Her second husband died in 1983.
On 13 January 2023, following the death of 110-year-old Sirkka Nieminen, she became the oldest living person in Finland.
After her death, the new oldest living person in Finland is 109-year-old Gunnel Margareta Stenbäck (born 21 September 1914) of Helsinki.
