Career
Tolvanen fought in the Finnish army, navy and air force during World World War II, including time as a machine gun sergeant, patrol boat commander and bomb aimer in Bristol Blenheim aircraft. The couple had three boys. Tolvanen found that he was unable to find work as an agronomist in Australia, and the family moved to South Africa in 1970.
Tolvanen worked as an agronomist until his death in Pretoria in 1974.