Lögberg-Heimskringla - 03.06.2005, Page 9

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 3. júní 2005 • 9
Above: Stephan V. Benediktson at his grandfather’s desk in
Stephansson House. Left: Stephan V. outside the house.
difficult — but we survived.
Mother took father’s death very
hard. She was a one-man wom-
an and when I look back it is
hard to realize that she lived to
be 94 but she was only married
for aboul 14 years.”
Giving back
to the community
The idea of giving some-
thing back to the community is
very much supported by Steve.
He has published his own book,
Stefan ’s Story, A Half Century
in International Oil, sponsored
the book Stephan’s Daughter,
writlen about his mother, and
has also supported the publica-
tion of two books written about
his grandfather in Iceland, to
name a few examples.
“I try to keep abreast of any
interest there is in Stephan G.’s
works,” he says, when asked
about Viðar Hreinsson’s idea
of translating his books about
Stephan G. into a book in Eng-
lish and having it published in
Alberta. “The good news is that
we have this very fine body of
work, well documented and
well written, describing his life,
times, philosophy and move-
ments. The bad news is that
we can’t read it because it is in
Icelandic. There is some hope
regarding publication of a book
in English, and I support the
idea.”
Stephan G. Stephansson is
buried in the family cemetary,
Christianson and Stephans-
son Cementary, in the Chris-
tiansons’ land just across the
river from Stephansson House.
About three years ago, Steve
and his family learned that the
municipality had decided to
shut it down and not allow any
more interments there. Steve
says that they had meetings
with the council and made them
an offer that was accepted. “We
asked them to allow us to con-
tinue to operate it as a family
cemetary at no cost to the com-
munity, as we would take care
of all the maintenance and de-
velopment,” he says.
Now, the family is plan-
ning a walking trail along the
Medicine River from the bridge
to the cementary. “We want
to do this in the near future,”
Steve adds, and recalls a story
in connection with his grandfa-
ther’s death. “One of Stephan
G.’s great supporters was an
Icelander from Wynyard, Sas-
katchewan, named Jakob Nor-
man. He had come to see him
on occasion and they had a
great relationship. Mother told
me the story that one night he
had a dream that if he was ever
to see his friend Stephan G.
Stephansson again he had to
go forthwith. So he just got up,
went on a train, rode the train to
Innisfail and got out to Marker-
ville. The next day Stephan G.
Stephansson died in Jakob Nor-
man’s arms.”
Recently, Steve and his
children donated $24,000 to
the Fensala Hall Restoration
Project. “As a group we wanted
to contribute to the rebuilding
of the Fensala Hall. It is such
a fine project. The community
works so hard and it is difficult
to raise money for a project like
that. They had hoped for more
govemment funding and I hope
that this will push them over
the top and get the work com-
pleted. They have dedicated
so much time and effort to the
project and I’m very proud of
them.”
Snorri Program
on the agenda
From 1997 to 2001, Steve
was Iceland’s Honorary Consul
in Southem Alberta. “I sup-
pose that I enjoyed my time as
Honorary Consul for Iceland
in Southem Alberta more than
any position I have ever occu-
pied, corporate or otherwise,”
he says. “The consular corps is
such a fine group of people and,
strangely, it is so nonpolitical.”
Steve lives with his wife
Adriana Kroes in Mexico, but
his three children by his former
wife, Stephan Robert, Susan
Rosa and Paul David, live with
their families around Calgary.
Steve has lived and worked in
Stephan V. Benediktson started his formal education at the Heckla School in Alberta.
the Far East, the Middle East,
Australia and South America as
well as Canada and Texas.
“I have had a wonderful mn
and great experiences. I’m very
grateful for how things have
unfolded and for what I have
accomplished, but I always
come home to Alberta. I love
Alberta and I’m verý proud of
my roots in Markerville, my
Icelandic-Canadian heritage. I
try to connect my children and
hope to get my grandchildren
into the Snorri Program.”
Hamrahlíðarkórinn
choir from Reykjavík
will be performing at 8:00 p.m.
WINNIPEG ART GALLERY
RICHARDSON AUDITORIUM
NO CHARGE
ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND
ICBLAND'S
NATIONAL DAY
Three WUuupey evtnixyou, dunUMt’t mu*s!
THE JON SIGURDSON CHAPTER and thc
ICELANDIC CANADIAN FRÓN
invite all to be present at the
T"WENTY-THIRD ÁNNUAL WREA'IH LaYING CeREMONY
in Celebration of
The SlXTY - First Anniversay OF
Iceland’s Independence Day
At The Jon Sigurdsson Statue,
Manitoba Legislative Grounds
Friday, June 17, 2005 at 7:00 p.m.
GUEST SPEAKER
STEINGRÍMURJ. SIGFUSSON
member of parliament, iceland
OPEN HOUSE
Come and see the new office of
Lögberg-Heimskringla
Friday, June 17, 2005
2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND
100-283 PORTAGE AVENUE
Visit us on the web at http://www.lh-inc.ca