Ritva M. (Granlund) Gabrielsson

Ritva M. Gabrielsson, 89, Cape Vincent, passed away peacefully Friday morning, November 15, 2024, at Samaritan Keep Home, Watertown where she had been additionally under the care of Hospice since November 4.

Ritva was born in Helsinki, Finland, September 30, 1935, the daughter of Karl and Kerttu M. (Rami) Granlund and was raised by her aunt & uncle, Martha (Granlund) and Viking Tallgren.  She was a 1955 graduate of Swedish Girls’ High School, Helsinki and a 1959 graduate of Helsinki School of Nursing.  

Ritva, known as Mai, pronounced My, was a nurse in Finland and in the US worked as an obstetric nurse at Delaware Valley Hospital in Bristol, PA.  She was raised Lutheran and attended Cape Vincent United Methodist Church.  

She married Sven E. Gabrielsson, the love of her life, on December 7, 1958 in Helsinki.  The couple moved to the US in 1966 and along with their son and daughter, became naturalized citizens on December 16, 1968 in Trenton, NJ.

Ritva and Sven moved from NJ in 1978 finding their dream home and a welcoming community when Sven accepted a position with the St. Lawrence Seaway Pilots’ Association in Cape Vincent.  Ritva involved herself immediately in volunteer work becoming a member of the Cape Vincent Ambulance Squad, the Cape Vincent Improvement League and a member of the Jefferson County American Red Cross board of directors.  She became the first female board member on the Cape Vincent Village Board in 1984 and was a member of the Village Waterfront Revitalization Committee.  At the time of her appointment to the Village Board she was President of the then 90-member  Improvement League and in that role hosted many events including a fashion show and Scandinavian holiday parties, always joyfully welcoming anyone and everyone into her home.

Shortly after her husband’s death in September of 1986, Ritva moved to Florida where she resided in Lake Worth.  During her time there she pursued and received certification as a Medical Assistant from the Concorde Career Institute, Miami.  A second marriage to Kaj Avall during this phase of her life ended in divorce but they remained good friends and she helped care for him during a brief illness until he passed away.

In 2016, she returned full time to Cape Vincent to live with her daughter and son-in-law, where she resided until moving to the Samaritan Keep Home in 2020 for dementia care.

She will be remembered as a loving mother, a loyal friend and adventurer always up for travel and a good road trip.  While raising her children she was the fun mom on the block, loading up the station wagon for trips to the beach at the New Jersey shore and blueberry picking.  Her exuberant personality and joyful spirit continued into her grand-parenting years and beyond, becoming Grandma Mai to extended family and friends.  Described by a friend, “she would light up the room when she walked in anywhere”.

She is survived by her son, Carl V. Gabrielsson and daughter and her husband, Pamela H. and Ronald J. Youngs, all of Cape Vincent; three beloved and loving grandchildren, Eric (Katie) Youngs, Clayton, Kaitlyn (Michael) Krause, Fountain Hills, AZ, and Aaron Youngs, Cape Vincent; four great grandchildren with one on the way; Madelyn, Emma, and Lauren Youngs, and Sophia Maeve Krause; a sister Marita (Granlund) Soderberg, Tampere, Finland; and cousins.  Along with her parents and aunt and uncle, she is predeceased by a cousin who she was raised with, Ulla (Tallgren) Blomster.

There will be no calling hours.  A graveside service and burial will be held at the family’s convenience at Riverside Cemetery, Cape Vincent.  Arrangements are entrusted with Cummings Funeral Service, Inc., Clayton and online condolences to Ritva's family may be posted at www.cummingsfuneral.com.

The family wishes any donations made in her name be made to the Cape Vincent Ambulance Squad, Cape Vincent Fire Department, or Hospice of Jefferson County.