Lögberg-Heimskringla - 04.07.1968, Blaðsíða 2

2
LÖGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA, FIMMTUDAGINN 4. JÚLÍ 1968
Margréfr Stephensen
1878-1968
Address delivered ai ihe Bardal Funeral Home,
Winnipeg, Maniioba — May 17, 1968,
by
Rev. V. J. Eylands, D. D.,
Pasior, Firsi Luiheran Church.
M r s. Margréi Siephensen imore experience, and this
was bom at Arnes, Manitoba, I having been granted, he was
August 28, 1878. Her parents
were Stefán Gunnarsson, born
May 24, 1845, at Arnholtsstað-
ir, in the Municipality of Suð-
urmúlasýsla, in Iceland, and
his wife, Anna Þuríður Sig-
fúsdóttir, born April 24, 1848,
at Sleðbrjót, in the Munici-
pality of Norður Múlasýsla, in
Iceland. They had immigrated
to Canada in 1876, and settled
in the New Iceland communi-
ty, north of Gimli. The family
moved to Winnipeg in 1882,
so we can truly say that Mrs.
Stephensen was a life-long
resident of Winnipeg. She pas-
sed away on May 15, 1968, at
the Winnipeg General Hos-
pital, thus having a 1 m o s t
reached the age of ninety
years.
She is survived by two sons,
Magnús, of Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia, and Franklin, of
Winnipeg. There are also three
daughters surviving, Mrs. V.
J. Percy (Ann); Mrs. G. P.
Kennedy (Elma) and Mrs.
Robert Black, (Emily), all of
Winnipeg. She is also survived
by eleven grandchildren, ele-
ven great grandchildren, and
one great great grandchild.
I have read some of the
lessons which are assigned by
the church for services of this
nature. They are selected with
a view to the message of com-
fort and faith, which they
convey to surviving relatives
and friends.
There is the Twenty-third
Psalm with its message of
God’s tender care for His own,
of the blessings which He
brings early and late in life,
and of the comfort, confidence
and fearless steps with which
a Christian may approach the
portals of death, knowing that
they are actually the portals
of life.
T h e re is the fourteenth
chapter of St. John’s Gospel,
where our blessed L o r d
speaks to His fearful and
frustrated disciples, assuring
them that once they know
Him, they are on the right
way, because He is the way
to God, the truth about God
is found in His words, and the
life with God is guaranteed in
His own resurrection, and re-
turn to claim His own.
The last lesson which I
read is not ordinarily read at
funeral services among us, but
is sung by the choir at the
close of some of our services.
It is a prayer, uttered by a
very old man, who had really
run his course, and finished
his life work on this earth.
ready to be gathered unto his
fathers. His only remaining
wish was that he might see
the Lord Jesus Christ in the
flesh, and having seen Him,
he said: “Now, lettest thou
thy servant depart in peace.”
This prayer is known as the
“Nunc Dimittis”, and is par-
ticularly lovely in its musical
rendering.
If this funeral had been
conducted from the church,
our choir would have sung
this prayer for Mrs. Stephen
sen, with special tenderness
and a deep feeling. We would
have liked to do this, as a
token of our esteem for the
departed. She was, in many
ways, an outstanding woman
in the community. She was
outstanding in her talents, in
her ability, and in her dedica-
tion to the church of which she
was a life-long member. She
will also be remembered as
the wife of a pioneer medical
doctor who ministered unsel-
fishly among his people dur-
ing the poverty of the pioneer-
ing period in this city and
community.
When the family moved to
Winnipeg, the congregation of
the First Lutheran Church
had indeed been organized,
but it did not, for some time,
enjoy the services of a regular
clergyman. T h e leadership
and conducting of the worship
services, therefore, fell to the
laymen, of whom her father,
Stefán Gunnarsson, was one
of the most prominent. He
served in the capacity as a
lay-preacher of the church for
some time until the first pas-
tor, The Rev. Jón Bjarnason,
arrived and took charge.
In telling the story of the
Ladies' Aid, on the occasion
of its 75th anniversary, Mrs.
Stephensen refers incidental-
ly to her association with the
church from the time she was
a very young girl. She was
But he was waiting for one closely connected with the ac-
tivities of the congregation in
all the three church buildings
which it has occupied since
inception in 1878. First, there
was the Community Hall in
which the people assembled
for worship. Then, the first
church building on Sherbrook
and Pacific, at which time she
joined the Choir. Then there
came the church building on
Sherbrook and Pacific, when
she became a teacher in the
Sunday School, and a mem-
ber of the Ladies' Aid, of
which she was the oldest liv-
ing member, and Honorary
President, at the time of her
death. She served this organi-
zation faithfully in various
capacities through the years;
first, for decades, as its secre-
tary, and for many years as
its president. She was an able
speaker in either English or
Icelandic, and wielded a fluent
pen in either language. She
has written numerous essays
and articles, mostly ín Ice-
landic. She was one of the
founders of the Lulheran Wo
men's League, and it was at
her suggestion that this or
ganization launched its annual
magazine ÁRDÍS, which was
published for over thirty
years. Summing up her activi-
ties in the church, she says:
"Firm friendships were for
med, and they lasled even
beyond death, for church wor-
kers acquire a wider vision, as
well as a measure of love."
She is also remembered, and
appreciated as the wife of a
pioneer medical doctor. On
February 4, 1896, she was
married to Dr. Ólafur Step-
hensen, born December 22,
1864, and a member of a very
prominent and aristocractic
Icelandic family of well
known clergymen and states-
men. It was a family of distin-
guished physical characteris-
tics, and strong mentality. I
can see the family traits in the
faces of some of you present
h e r e . Mr. Stephensen had
graduated from the Medical
School of Iceland, and done
post-graduate work on the
continent, mainly in Copen-
hagen, Denmark. He came to
Canada in 1894. In order to
qualify as a medical doctor
under the Canadian law, and
also for the sake of the lan-
guage, he attended the Mani-
toba Medical S c h o o 1, and
graduated in 1895, thus be-
coming the first Icelander to
receive a medical degree in
Canada. He practised medi-
cine from the day of his
graduation to the day of his
death, on July 17, 1939.
He enlisted in the Armred
Forces of Canada in the 197th
Regiment in 1916, and attain-
ed the rank of Captain, serv-
ing at the Military Hospital at
Ramsgate, England. He re-
turned to Canada on February
21, 1918.
Practising medicine in those
pioneer days was entirely dif-
ferent from what it is today.
People were poor, and many
were unable to pay the doctor
for his services, or promptly
forgot all about it, once the
crisis was over and their need
met and satisfied. But in spite
of relative poverty, the Step-
hensens retained their digni-
ty, their honor, and their posi-
tion of leadership in the com-
munity.
We think of them both with
respect and gratitude: “Well
done, good and faithful sei-
vants.”
„Now lettest thou thy ser-
vant depart in peace.”
Þungt er þjáðum að þreyja-
* * *
Öll er neyðin nöpur.
* * *
Ö1 kætir, öl grætir.
* * *
Það mæla börn, sem vilja-
Want to know more about
i c E L a
D ?
You are invited to join our ever increasing number of
subscribers, who have already found that ICELAND
REVIEW gives them more and more information on
lceland and the lcelanders in text and striking pictures.
Make if your magozine. Start your subscription now.
Beztu kveðjur fró ístandi.
JBL lceland
Write to Review P.O. Box 1238, Reykjavik, lccland.
Enciose Con. $ 5.70 or US $ 5.25 for one yeor of YOUR magazine.
Aðeins $1 10-20
með Loftleiðum
Spyrjisi fyrir. Þér munið komast að því, að lægsiu far-
gjöldin eru enn hjá Lofileiðum — — flugfélaginu, sem
hefir hafi iil boða lægsiu flugfargjöldin í 24 ár. Og þér
finnið hið íslenzka andrúmslofi um leið og þér slígið um
borð. Fargjaldið fram og aftur milli New York og íslands
er venjulega $220.40, og aðeins $285, þegar ferðamanna-
siraumurinn er mesiur. Ef þér ferðisl með 15 mannahóp,
er fargjaldið aðeins $200, og í því innifalið um $70 fyrir-
greiðsla. Að ferðasl iil íslands er að ferðasi með Lofileið-
um. Og ef þér æilið iil Evrópu hafa Loflleiðir einnig iil
boða lægri fargjöld en öll önnur flugfélög.
* aðra leiðina á venjulegum árstíma.
LÆGSTU FLUGFARGJÖLDIN TIL:
ÍSLANDS, SVÍÞJÓÐAR, NOREGS, DANMERKUR.
ENGLANDS, SKOTLANDS, HOLLANDS OG LUX-
ENBOURG.
ICELANDICa
IRUNES
610 FIFTH AVENUE (ROCKEFELLER CENTRE)
NEW YORK, N. Y. 10020 PL 7-8585
New York Chicago San Francisco
Fáið upplýsinga bæklinga og ráðstafið ferðinni á íerða-
skrifstofu yðar.