Sirkka Bulkley

Sirkka Sinikka Hankiala Bulkley left a hole in this world when she passed away Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, (between 6 and 7 p.m., IYKYK) due to complications related to dementia. Sini was born in Turku, Finland, June 11, 1943, to Johan Hankiala and Sylvi Suvanto. Her brother, Toivo (Topi), joined the family in 1947, and from that point on he had the privilege of growing up with a sister who was bright, capable and not especially easy to out-argue — an arrangement he survived admirably. One of her favorite childhood memories was attending the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics with her aunt and tasting her first Coca-Cola —an early carbonated triumph that may explain her lifelong loyalty to Diet Coke. Sini excelled in school and attended Turku University, graduating with a degree in English, which proved useful for explaining, correcting and occasionally winning arguments with excellent grammar.

She moved to Frankfurt, Germany, in Dec. 1966 to work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A couple of weeks later, on New Year’s Eve, she met her eternal companion, Lynn Arthur Bulkley; six months after that, they were married and sealed in the Bern Switzerland Temple — because apparently Sini saw no reason to drag the process out unnecessarily. By Finnish standards, this was practically rushing, but the experiment appears to have held (just short of 60 years).

They lived in Royal Oak, Mich., where their daughter, Lisa, and son, Kari, joined the family, and then moved to Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where Karen and Scott arrived to complete the crew and reduce the household quiet to a fond memory, assuming it had ever existed. In 1978, Sini and Lynn moved back to Michigan, settling in Troy, where they made life-long friends through their church in the Troy Ward. Their home was often full of people, food, conversation, children and — thanks to the satellite dish — General Conference, earning it the affectionate title of the “Bulkley Branch,” which may not have been official but was certainly well attended. Sini was an excellent teacher and served many times in the Primary, Sunday School, and Relief Society. She had a gift for explaining things clearly, firmly and with the unmistakable sense that if you still did not understand, that was unfortunate.

Sini took real joy in finding the best deals, couponing and refunding. She taught her children the value of money, the satisfaction of a bargain well won, and the important principle that paying full price was a last resort, if not a personal defeat. She was an extremely talented seamstress and made clothes for her children when they were young, sending them into the world neatly dressed, coordinated and largely unaware of how fortunate they were to have a private tailor on staff. She was an avid reader and loved listening to books on tape as she and Lynn took road trips, because silence has limits, and so apparently do conversations after 25 miles in the car.

After her children were all in school, Sini put her sharp mind to work as a paralegal at the law firm Butzel Long, where her eye for detail, orderly thinking and ability to keep track of everything served her well until retirement. Lynn and Sini later moved to Lewiston to be close to their son Scott and his family, because no matter how old he got, or how tall he became, he remained the baby boy, a title from which there is apparently no appeals process.

Sini is survived by her eternal companion, Lynn; her children, Lisa (Treg) of Lindon, Utah; Kari (Raelynn) of Haslett, Mich.; Karen (Christopher) of Monument, Colo.; and Scott (Sara) of Lewiston; 12 grandkids; seven great-grandkids (with one on the way); and her constant companion, Buddy, the dog, who clearly understood who his person was.

The family is deeply grateful to the staff at Sage and Grace Assisted Living and Memory Care, and to Ascend Hospice of Idaho for the kindness, patience and tender care they gave Sini, and for appreciating the wit and gentle sarcasm that stayed with her to the end — because even dementia, it seems, could not fully silence a well-timed comment.

Sini will be remembered for her intelligence, faith, thrift, talent, humor and unmistakable Sini-ness: practical, loyal, observant and always entirely herself. She knew what she knew, loved who she loved, saved what could be saved and generally improved things whether they had asked for improvement or not.

An open house celebration of life will be held from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Bulkley home, 2105 Alder Ave, Unit B, Lewiston, where family and friends will gather to remember Sini, share stories and perhaps quietly agree that she would have had several helpful suggestions about the arrangements. Attendees are kindly asked to park on 21st Street.