Irja O Nivala

We will be joining together to remember her life on Wednesday, December 29, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at Brandon Funeral Home, 305 Wanoosnoc Road, Fitchburg, MA. Burial immediately thereafter at Forest Hill Cemetery, 115 Mt. Elam Road, Fitchburg, MA.



It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Irja Orvokki Nivala to sudden illness on December 22, 2021. Irja was born on January 3, 1942 in Toholampi, Finland to Rauha and Karle Toivola. Irja met and married her husband Silvo, in Finland, and together they emigrated to the United States. After her husband’s passing in 1978, she raised her five children as a single mother, a testament to her “Sisu.” Irja was loved dearly and will be missed by all those she left behind. Family and friends remember her infectious humor, her energy, her artistic talent, her delicious cooking, which she generously shared, and most of all, her powerful faith in God. Irja will be lovingly remembered by her children: Risto, Elisa, Helena, Lea, Anna and their spouses; 12 grandchildren: Rachael, Timo, Hannah, Rebekah, Shannon, Benjamin, Kaija, Luke, Karinne, Evie, Katerina, and Maija and their spouses; 6 great-grandchildren, and her sister, Anja. Irja was predeceased by her husband, Silvo, eight of her siblings, and her daughter Lea’s husband, Michael. Irja’s faith in God was her foundation. One of her favorite verses from the Bible comes from Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” We will miss her arms as a refuge, wrapping us in her love.