When Torsti Tapio Paatero was born on 7 February 1916, in Lohja, Uusimaa, Finland, his father, Aarne Valentin Paatero, was 29 and his mother, Impi Hilja Backa, was 27. He married Eila Sinikka Wallden on 5 October 1941, in Lohja, Uusimaa, Finland. He died on 11 February 1986, in his hometown, at the age of 70, and was buried in Lohja, Uusimaa, Finland.