Lögberg-Heimskringla - 25.04.2003, Page 12

page 12 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday, 25 April 2003
“Any man 's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind ... No man is an island, entire ofhimself. ”—John Donne • “Maður er manns gaman. ”—Hávamál
Spotlighting lives lived and milestones in the lives of Icelandic North Americans.
This Great Man, Husband, Pabbi, Afi, and Langafi
Pall S. Ardal, Professor Emeritus, Queen’s University passed away peacefully at Providence Manor,
Kingston, on March 25th 2003, after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
Maja and Grimur Ardal
Toronto, On
Pall S. Ardal
e was beloved husband of
Harpa, adored father of
Frida, Maja, Steinthor, and
Grimur, devoted grandfather of
Paul, Inga, Emma, Kiel,
Malcolm, Alice, Allison, and
Owen, great-grandfather of
Liam.
Pall was bom in 1924 in
Akureyri, the first-bom son of
Hallfríður Hannesdóttir, needle-
point teacher, and Steinþór
Pálsson Árdal, farmer and
labourer.
Pall’s grandfather, Páll J.
Árdal, for whom he was named,
was a poet, playwright and
school teacher. He was one of
the founders of the first theatre
company in Akureyri. An event
that would resonate years later
for the young Pall happened on
his grandfather’s deathbed. The
dying man asked his sister
Laufey to ensure that Pall
would receive an education.
Pall spent his early years in
the small northern town of
Siglufiörður. There he con-
tributed to the family income
from the age of twelve by work-
ing around the clock in the her-
ring factory. Later that year, he
contracted pleurisy, and spent
the next two years in a sanatori-
um. After he recovered, Pall’s
aunt Laufey fulfilled her prom-
ise to her brother, and took the
fourteen-year-old boy into her
home in Akureyri where he
attended high school. Pall strug-
gled to make up for lost school-
time, covering two years in one,
and eventually became the
highest-ranking scholar: Dux of
the school.
It was during his senior
year, that he met and fell in love
with Harpa Ásgrímsdóttir.
Midnight Sun, a play written by
daughter Maja, was based on
their courtship during the war
years, when Iceland was occu-
pied by allied forces. The play
was translated into Icelandic,
and produced in the theatre that
grandfather Páll J. Árdaf had
founded.
Together, Pall and Harpa,
with first baby Frida in tow,
travelled to Edinburgh,
Scotland, where Pall began lan-
guage studies. The family
expanded to include Maja,
Steinthor, and Grimur. Pall had
planned to return to Iceland as a
teacher, but a course in philoso-
phy opened his eyes to a whole
new world of thought, and kept
him in Edinburgh.
He became deeply
absorbed in this great joumey of
ideas and morality that would
establish him as one of the
world’s top scholars of the
works of the renowned Scottish
philosopher David Hume. At
Edinburgh University he
obtained his Doctorate and lec-
tured in Philosophy. His reputa-
tion garnered him visiting pro-
fessorships at the University of
Toronto and Dartmouth College
in New Hampshire. He eventu-
ally took a position at Queen’s
University in Kingston ON,
where he taught from 1969 till
the late eighties, and was
awarded the inaugural Charlton
Chair in Philosophy.
Iceland would always be
the magnet that drew the Ardals
home to maintain family ties.
Pall was a wonderful singer,
and his spirited renditions of the
old Icelandic songs have kept
the whole family connected to
their roots. It is little wonder
that Steinthor, Grimur, Maja,
and several of Pall and Harpa’s
grandchildren are performing
artists and musicians.
Over twenty years ago, Pall
was diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease. In typical optimistic
fashion, he embraced this new
challenge, determined to leam
everything about it,. increase
public awareness, and never to
let it defeat his spirit.
To this end, he worked tire-
lessly with the Parkinson
Foundation, and even wrote a
humorous play suggesting that a
world of immobility might be
better than the present world of
aggressive and relentless for-
ward motion! A videotape of
the play is used as therapy for
Parkinson’s patients. Pall was
never short of wit about his bat-
tle with this perplexing disease,
and he refused to let it hold him
back from his beloved pursuits
of squash, tennis and bridge.
When Pall’s illness took him to
Providence Manor Continuing
Care Centre, he insisted that no
one ever offer him sympathy for
his condition. He always felt
there was far more suffering in
the world, than his own. Pall’s
singing voice rang through the
halls of Providence Manor until
a few days before his death.
Pall will be remembered by
all who knew him as a man of
great passion and integrity. He
inspired us all to follow our
dreams. A profoundly good and
sensitive man, Pall had a great
lust for life, and a glorious sense
of humour. The enduring love
of his life was Harpa, wife of
almost sixty years, and his
greatest joy was in his family.
Pall’s life reminds us, that
living our lives to the fullest,
and respecting each other, is the
finest way to keep the memory
of this great Man, Husband,
Pabbi, Afi, and Langafi alive.
Pall’s legacy as a philoso-
pher goes far beyond his teach-
ing and publications. He always
maintained that philosophy has
an important place in the
thoughts of all people. And
with this, he applied his moral
and critical thought to the prac-
tical matters of medical ethics,
social justice, and the prison
system. Pall has been responsi-
ble for inspiring new philoso-
phers in all walks of life.
Recently the Pall S Ardal
Institute for Hume Studies
was established at Akureyri
University, Iceland.
Also, the Ardal
Scholarship in Philosophy
was established at Queen’s
University. This award is given
to a promising student of phi-
losophy.
Donations may be made to Queen’s
University in Pall's name to:
Advancement Business Offlce, Old
Medieval Building, Queen’s
University, Kingston, ON. K7L 3N6
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