Lögberg-Heimskringla - 28.01.2005, Síða 8

8 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 28 January 2005
PHOTO: STEINÞÓR GUÐBJARTSSON
Tammy Stefansson Evans lives in White Rock, where her balcony looks out onto Semiahmoo Bay. Behind her is Point Roberts in the United States.
She is of lcelandic descent and she’s proud of
it. She likes to travel and explore the unknown.
She is adventurous and nothing stops her. She
has worked hard but is considering changing
her lifestyle. Steinþór Guðbjartsson visited
Tammy Stefansson Evans in White Rock, BC.
Tammy Evans has been
in the real estate busi-
ness for about 10 years.
“I was a single mom, and I did
not want to be a realtor — but
my background was construc-
tion and interior design, so,
with my knowledge, real estate
was a good íit,” she says when
asked about her profession. “It
allowed me to stay in the area,
volunteer at my son’s school
and care for my two boys, Ryan
and Eryk. Ten years ago I had
nothing but me and my boys,
but I have done extremely
well.”
Lost for a while
From her house in White
Rock, Tammy has a splendid
view over the ocean. “I went to
school here and also, it is very
important for me to be near
the water. Water is my restful
thought. It is so relaxing and
feels so powerful. When I was
a young child, I used to imag-
ine myself as a little Icelandic
kid on a ship, and I always
planned to travel over the ocean
on a ship. I wanted to be a Vi-
king! Of course we always fly
now but I think I would have
enjoyed sailing a lot as a child.
The story of Guðríður Þor-
bjamardóttir has always fasci-
nated me.”
Edwin Dagmar Stefans-
son, Tammy’s patemal grand-
father, was bom in Manitoba
in 1907; his parents emigrated
from Geysir, Iceland, before
1900. Her father was William
Edwin Eggert Stefansson, and
her mother Pauline is of Eng-
lish and Irish descent. “I think
they have mutual ancestors
way back,” Tammy says. She is
the oldest of three siblings. Her
sister Signe lives in Vancouver
and her brother Paul (Vilhjal-
mur) is in Bumaby.
“My father and my grand-
father were very proud of their
Icelandic heritage and my
grandfather spoke Icelandic as
well as Russian, French, and
German,” Tammy recalls. “I
would hear stories of Iceland,
and when I went to Iceland in
the summer of 2001 1 heard the
same stories although not re-
lated to me. When growing up
I was made very much aware
of my heritage, as my mother
cared a lot about lineage. There
was a great deal of identifying
with people and past families,
but I think that my mother was
prouder of me being Icelandic
than of me having any English
blood. She was so caught up in
the Icelandic atmosphere and
was surrounded by people of
Icelandic descent.”
When Tammy was five
years old her patemal grandfa-
ther died. Her father died when
she was 14. “My parents split
up when I was about six years
old and I lost my connection
to my Icelandic family. I came
to White Rock and graduated
from high school. I found out
about the Icelandic club in Van-
couver and became a member
at the age of 17. But there was
no connection for me, so I lost
my interest and moved on. I re-
mained aware of my Icelandic
heritage, and when asked, told
people that I was Icelandic. Yet
I did not know how to recon-
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