Pruuli Eulogy By Jaak Jarve
Karl Pruuli passed away on January 8th, 2002. He was 88 years young.
Once upon a time, there lived a King- Karl Pruuli, his Queen Hilda and their princess Viive in a magical kingdom, Pruuliville.
This was a magical kingdom because all who entered Pruuli's kingdom never wanted to leave. All were treated like royalty, wined and dined to the maximum. Activities included fishing, dancing, merry making, singing, sauna, rest and relaxation, and games of all kinds.
Time stood still for all who visited the Pruuli kingdom- worries were put aside, troubles forgotten.
Through the four seasons of the year, winter, spring, summer, fall - each season offered the wandering traveler or local resident an escape or sanctuary from the outside world. Adults were transformed into children. Over the years the accompanying children became adults and in turn brought their children to the Kingdom of Pruuli. As the generations of people passed through the Kingdom of Pruuli, they always took home with them magical fond memories.
Some who were fortunate had a chance to even meet King Karl when he held court in his kitchen. They were introduced to the wisdom of Pruuli. As you know King Karl knew everything! ( If you ever meet up with Sannu Mölder, let him tell you about the story of the Minister and the tree so large that 16 men could not surround the trunk and hold hands).
I will never forget the occasion when Karl and I went fishing for bass on a nearby lake one late summer afternoon. He of course knew where to go to the exact spot where with every cast of the rod we hauled in some fish. The boat was literally full of fish when I turned to Karl and said "Let's go home I think we have enough fish!"
As I looked towards him, I caught a glimpse of an eighty year old child baiting his hook with worm. He replied, "Let's use up all the worms, there's enough daylight still!" When the worms were gone, we left the lake with the largest haul of bass I have ever caught in my life. Lesson learned... Don't ever stop when the getting is good!
When Karl passed away from this world, I believe that the real reason Karl left us was because he heard that God was having a bridge game upstairs and they needed a good fourth player. As Viive also became an adult while living in this magical kingdom, she yearned for adventures of her own.
I met Viive in the early eighties when her travels took her to Toronto. Viive and I became kindred spirits. We saw movies together, went out to restaurants, listened to music, played Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble one on one (she was very competitive), talked for endless hours about life, work and each other's accomplishments. We both shared an interest in Fairy Tales.
Anybody who knew Viive knew she was the immaculate host. If you haven't seen the video "Babbette's Feast" - do yourself a favour and rent it. It is truly an amazing video on how to present a full course meal. It was also one of Viive's favourite videos.
On every visit we would always do the Chinese fortune-telling sticks. Dinner parties...Ene, Tiiu, Reet and Anne Marie can attest to the wonderful dinner parties which Viive hosted. Which brings me to one dinner party in particular - where I want to set the record straight as to what really happened.
Picture this...Viive is hosting a Christmas party at her Keewatin apartment, the rooms are full of people, the music is playing, the wine is flowing, the buffet table is spread out beautifully, garnished salads, meat trays and other treats beside the wall. In front of the buffet table was Viive's half-shelving unit full of her collectable demitasses, wine rack, books, dolls and other collectable items.
I honestly accidentally leaned on the corner of the shelf - thinking that it was a full size shelving unit. When...oooops! It falls into the buffet table. BOOM! Everybody stopped talking...then an awkward moment of silence. Only two of the tasses broke - let me repeat only two of the tasses broke. One of the wine bottles was launched into the potato salad (without breaking) and of course everything else like books and dolls were embedded into various platters of food.
Into this comical scene appears Viive. As I am lifting the shelving unit back to it's former position, feeling quite embarrassed and small in this situation, Viive laughingly said "Anybody else but you, Jaak!" With those words she became my best friend.
After that evening, she always stored her demitasse collection behind glass away from open spaces. Viive was intelligent, honest, caring and disliked anybody who liked to freeload. She was a doer, she made things happen. If you were not going to contribute anything, then get out of her way.
There are three types of people in this world. Doers, people who like to watch and those that keep asking what happened? Using the wisdom of Pruuli she provided a shoulder to cry on, consulting services and her opinion whenever asked.
She always had the habit of picking up strays, both the four-legged variety as well as the the two-legged variety. When Viive had her first blackout in 1996, she was hospitalized at St. Michael's Hospital, in Toronto, coincidentally at the same time as our first child Andres was born. In the following 6 years Viive did more living than some people see in a lifetime. She traveled to Estonia on various occasions on both business and pleasure. Here is an example of her courage and determination.
My father passed away on April 20th, 2002. Viive in her weakened condition walked all the way from her Erskine Avenue apartment to the Newbigging Funeral Home to pay her last respects during the viewing. We had to send her back in a cab.
Her final project was the organization and holding of the memorial service for her father Karl Pruuli on June 23, 2002. With the help of long time family friends Cuno and Edelgard Bergner this event was a huge success. Viive was able to see the pictures and videos of the memorial service from her hospital bed.
For the next two months after the memorial service Viive fought a valiant battle with the tumour in her head. Her courage and determination through this was admirable. She would continue to hold on dearly to life until early Tuesday morning August 20th, 2002. With her mother at her side she left this world as we know it, to join her father Karl. They are both probably fishing right about now telling each other stories.
In the movie "Legends of the Fall", the character portrayed by Brad Pitt, dies at the end with a knife in hand fighting a grizzly bear. The writer of this film called this scene "a good death" probably because it was quick, and honourable.
Viive's death was not good. It was prolonged, painful and debilitating. And yet through it all, her spirit remained strong. Viive was an only child, but as I look around, I see only her brothers and sisters here today!
Viive, thank-you for being you, and we shall meet again on a different shore.
Viive võitles enda haigusega juba mitmeid aastaid. Viimaste kuude haiglas olek oli pingeline ja võimatult raske lõpp saatusele mille tagajärjed olid kahjuks temale ette teada.
Kuid Viive ei andnud alla teavele et tema elu igal olid väga tõsised piirangud. Tema pakkus enda aega ja oskusi mitmele Eesti ühiskonna tegevusele, nende hulgas ka Toronto Eesti Ühispangale. Pank on viimaste aastate jooksul sügavalt mõtlenud enda tuleviku suuna peale, ning järk järgult viinud läbi muutusi mis selle edu kindlustaksid. Viive pakkus meile enda oskusi ja abi ning tema pannus oli märkimisväärne. Töötades meile konsultandina, Viive valmistas meile põhjalikke analüüse meie toodetest ja teenustest, nende plussidest ja ka puudujääkidest, ning tegi ettepankuid erinevatest võtetest kuidas neid eesti ühiskonnas nähtavale tuua. Tema oli oluline resurss et Toronto Eesti Ühispanga tegevust viia interneti peale, kujundades meie kodulehekülge ning valmistades ka selle sisu. Siia on kaasa arvatud elektroonilise panga teenuste rakendamine interneti kasutaja kodust. Viive panus ei olnud mingi muu seas või ajaviite tegevus. See oli tehtud inimese poolt kes armastas enda tööd, ning oli uhke enda professionaalses võimes ning töö saavutuste tasemega. Tema töö oli põhjalik ja võimaldas otsuseid teha väga kindlal ja läbi mõeldud alusel.
Tuleb meelde et küsisin Viive käest et millist tasu ta enda töö eest soovis. Ta vastas: "Makse minule seda mida arvate et mu töö on väärt!" Ma usun et me leidsime mõlemilt poolt vastuvõetava lahenduse, kuid Viive vastuses peitub mis temale oli olulise tähtusega. Ta andis enda aega sinna millele tema ise oli väärtusliku hinnangu andnud. See on Toronto Eesti Ühispanga auks et Viive pidas väärtuslikuks meie tegevust, meie arengut, meie tulevikku.
Enda tööga ja enda abiga Viive sai olema nagu panga oma inimene. Tema kaotus on ka panga pere ühine kaotus. Armas Viive, Toronto Eesti Ühispanga töölised, nõukogu ja komiteede liikmed leinavad sinu elu kaugeltki liiga varast lõppu ning soovime kaastundeid sinu leinavale emale ning omaksetele. Puhka rahus.
