Lauri Oscar Selin

"Oscar” Selin, 92, of Worcester, formerly of Baileyville, Maine and St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada passed away Wednesday, February 24th with the family he loved gathered at his side. Oscar was born in Kalvola, Finland on December 17, 1923, the son of Lauri J. and Katri (Luoto) Selin.  He was educated in Lahti, served in the Finnish Army during World War II.  Oscar then went to the University of Helsinki where he earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry.   In 1948, Oscar married Hilma K. Koskinen and began a life together of love for the next 67 years in Finland, Canada and the United States. In the early fifties, Oscar, was on the faculty at the University of Helsinki and then moved to Canada in 1957 working for KVP in Ontario and then accepting a position as a Forester for the Georgia Pacific Company in New Brunswick, Canada until 1970, when he then transferred to be Chief Forester in the US division until retiring in 1989 in Baileyville, just outside Calais, Maine, where they lived until moving to Worcester in 2008. Oscar is survived by the love of his life, Hilma; his two children, Lauri “Larry” Selin and his wife Florence of Albany, NY, and Liisa K. Selin, with whom they lived; a sister, Hilkka Riikonen in Finland; extended family members and friends.  Oscar, an outdoorsman from the beginning, enjoyed, cross country skiing, hiking, fishing, and nature.  He also enjoyed, collecting stamps, reading, and picking blueberries in Maine.   Most interesting fascination of Oscar was his enthusiastic knowledge of Finnish history, especially Finland's Civil War and the toll it took on Finnish families, about which he authored a book.  Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 5th at 1 pm in the MERCADANTE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 370 PLANTATION Street.   A period of calling hours will be held from 12 noon to 1 pm prior to the service.  In lieu of flowers memorial remembrances in his name can be made to the  Hudson Hoagland Society which funds the Worcester Foundation (Biomedical) Grant Program, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Development Office, 333 South St., Shrewsbury MA 01545  (  giving@umassmed.edu ).