Georg “Jori” Dolivo died on February 2.
Ismo Sajakorpi saw his friend Georg Dolivo for the last time in November. Mika Kanerva
– A fine and brilliant man, a soulmate. Smart, sympathetic and considerate of others, Ismo Sajakorpi describes the influences in the band Kivikasvot Georg “Jori” Dolivoa.
Dolivo died surrounded by his loved ones, exhausted by the disease on February 2. He was 77 years old when he died. Sajakorpi says that he received the news of the death on Monday, February 6.
The band Kivikasvot, founded in the 1960s, originally included Matti “Fredi” Siitonen, Ilkka Lähteenmäki, Sajakorpi and Dolivo. The friends were originally course mates at the Reserviupseerikoulu.
– This death evokes sad thoughts. Jori was a very close friend of mine in this group. In the beginning, we wrote sketches and texts together for 5–6 years. Our cooperation was continuous and close, Sajakorpi recalls.
Dolivo left Kivikasvot in 1987, but Sajakorpi and Dolivo performed together even after that. In addition to this, Dolivo supported Sajakorpe in his script projects.
Sajakorpi is the last surviving original member of Kivikasvoi.
– He built peace and a good mood. It was getting dark for us, Sajakorpi says.
– Jori spoke fluent Finnish, Swedish, German, English and Russian. His grandfather was a general in the Tsarist Russian army.
Georg “Jori” Dolivo was 77 years old when he died. Evening newspaper
Last conversation
Sajakorpi recalls his last encounters with Dolivo. Sajakorpi says that he saw Dolivo in good health last spring, when a “retrospective performance” about Kivikasvoi was organized in Oodi’s Kino Regina, Helsinki Central Library.
– We went through Kivikasvoi’s best years and moments, we spoke to the audience for a couple of hours. Jori came with his family to look there, he did walk, but he didn’t walk again after that.
In July, Dolivo was taken to the hospital, where Sajakorpi visited him.
– I also met him in a private care facility, where he was and that’s where he died. He faded away in such a way that the powers went away.
– I had time to talk to him in November, when I visited him for over an hour and a half. We talked in peace, slowly and calmly, we remembered the past with a good heart. It was a very discreet meeting.
Sajakorpi describes Dolivo as being completely “sharp and with a sense of humor” during the meeting, even though his physical condition had already collapsed.
– When a person’s physical condition goes down, even a smart and lively mind doesn’t help anymore, he adds.
– I remember my brother fondly, a great thinker.
Left Ilkka Hemming, Ismo Sajakorpi, Matti “Fredi” Siitonen and Georg Dolivo in 1970. Evening newspaper
Sajakorpi himself works on his work projects. There will be a musical play and a comedy to be seen in the Seinäjoki theater in the fall.
– I thought I would work as long as my fitness was sufficient. It seems to be enough, but I can’t brag about it. Friends have disappeared here every year. I don’t want to be in it as a continuation next year, says Sajakorpi.
– You have to respect life and appreciate every day that you get to live with your loved ones, he concludes.