people

Hans Grosin, Hanseman, January 1945 – November 2017

 

Hans Grosin

Hans Grosin. Picture borrowed from his FaceBook page.

Hans Grosin, called Hanseman in our youth,  was born on January 1945 and died on November 13th 2017.

On Dec 22nd 2017 I read the morning-paper and found a memorial text about my old friend Hans Grosin. On further investigation (Google and the Internet) I found out that he passed away on November 13th 2017. A year and some days since our mutual friend Elge passed away. The memorial text (in Swedish) was about his professional life as a psychotherapist and his house on Gotland (Swedish island).

On our last communication (via FaceBook Messenger on October 14th, 2017) he said, among other things, that he was missing Elge. And that he got tired and had problems breathing just by sitting down. He mentioned his lack of fitness also sometime in the summer and I recommended him to get more exercise. I don’t know what caused his death, but apparently he had health problems.

hans grosin, hans, ninna, elge

Hans, Ninna and Elge, 1964. Photo: ©nini.tjader.1964

Hans and I were never very tight. At first he was the close friend of Elge, which then was my boyfriend, and then the boyfriend of Ninna, which then was my closest girl-friend and later became the girlfriend of Elge after she and Hans separated. Complicated to say the least. Hans and I had a very shortlived fling some time there when our respective boyfriend/girlfriend left us for each other. It didn’t last though, but we remained friends.

hans grosin, elge, hans, israel

Elge and Hans, Februari 1963 on the beach in Israel. Photo: ©nini.tjader.1963

In January-February 1963, all four of us, Elge, Hans, Ninna and I, went to Israel. We went there  by boat and we stayed at House Bankier outside Tel Aviv by the parents of our mutual friend Channa Bankier (who also was there). That house was our basis during the months we stayed in Israel. We went on to a kibbutz (Gvar’am in southern Israel), where we stayed for a couple of weeks, until we decided to leave the kibbutz and the work and hitchhike around in Israel and visit other friends who also were there at various kibbutzim at that specific time. We then split up in pairs. It was Elge and me, and Ninna and Hans.

hansgrosin, hans_grosin

Hans on the beach February 1963. Photo:©nini.tjader.1963

We returned to Sweden some time in the spring of 1963. By that time Ninna and Elge became a couple and Hans and I went different ways.

I’ve been in contact with Hans on and off over the years. Elge and Hans remained friends and had a business together for some time. I spoke with Hans around the time that Ninna died, and later tried to teach him how to use his computer (he was very un-technical) at his home, then again communicated on and off via FaceBook and around the time when Elge died. Actually FaceBook created more communication between us all the last couple of years.

Now he, Hans, too is gone, just like Ninna and Elge. Of us four only I remain. And then a few others of the friends from then. That feels strange. That is the nature of things though when you get older. One by one they disappear.

 

Posted by nini in people, Thoughts, Various, 1 comment