John A. Niemi, a distinguished teaching professor and the embodiment of an educator dedicated to his students, died June 6. He was 71.

Niemi joined NIU’s fledgling adult education program in 1975.

Niemi, by virtue of his passion for the field, encouraged the program’s growth and lured hundreds of students to enroll.

He was best known for his tireless dedication to his students.

“He was such a humanist that if you met John, you would remember him because you could sense that he really cared about you,” said colleague Gene Roth, a professor in the Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education.

Niemi shared his love of travel with his students. He led numerous study abroad programs to his ancestral homeland, Finland.

“He would pack more into a day than most tour groups would cover in a month. His favorite expression was, ‘Well, you didn’t come 5,000 miles to sleep,’” Roth said.

Born Dec. 6, 1932 in Ironwood, Mich. to parents Arvo J. and Eva Niemi, the professor rose above his humble beginnings but never let his love for his grandparent’s country wane.

Niemi graduated in 1952 with an associate’s degree from Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, Mich. In 1954 he earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Michigan State. He earned a master’s degree at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. He earned his doctorate at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1967.

Niemi established educational ties while teaching at the University of Helsinki.

Niemi was a Fulbright professor of adult education in fall 1981 and helped start the graduate program. He later returned as a visiting professor in 1988.

The University of Helsinki awarded him an honorary Ph.D. in 1986.

The president of Finland awarded Niemi the insignia of the Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland in 2001, a designation for people who have furthered relations between Finland and their country.

Niemi loved Finland and identified with one particular Finnish concept for which there is no direct English translation: sisu.

Colleague Paul Ilsley, a professor in the department of educational technology, research and assessment, said the word means something near “fortitude.”

Niemi had the word on his license plate, said friend Phyllis Cunningham, a former NIU professor. He was like a bulldog, she said.

“Don’t get in the way if John was about to do something. He would sisu his way right through,” Cunningham said.

A funeral service was held Saturday at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in DeKalb. Niemi was buried at Fairview Park Cemetery in DeKalb.

A memorial has been established and donations can be made in care of Anderson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 605, 2011 S. Fourth St., DeKalb, IL 60115.