Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.01.2007, Qupperneq 14

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GRADUATIONS
Laurie Kristine Bertram
McMaster University
Laurie Kristine Bertram, graduate
of the University of Winnipeg, recently
graduated from McMaster University with
her Master of Arts in History. She was
awarded the Ezio Cappadocia Graduate
Prize in European History.
Laurie is currently enrolled in a
Ph.D. program at the University of Toronto
studying Icelandic Canadian History. Her
parents are Laurence and Christine Ber-
tram of Winnipeg. Maternal great-grand-
parents are the late Stefan and Kristin
Olafson of Riverton, MB. Grandparents
are Jean and the late Tom Bertram for-
merly of Langruth, MB and Erickson, MB,
and George and Helga Gerrard of Strath-
clair, MB.
* * *
IN MEMORIAM
In Loving Memory of
Bjornheidur Sigurveig “Hatha”
Abramson (nee Halldorson)
18 May 1924 – 14 January 2004
Not a day goes by without our
thinking of you. You will always be in our
hearts.
We miss you and love you forever.
Love, your children, Ralph, Karen,
David, Christine, Janice and Richard,
and your many grandchildren.
OBITUARIES
Stephanie Alda Brewer
3 December 1921 –
30 November 2006
Stephanie Alda Brewer, age 84,
died at Cypress Fairbanks Medical
Center in Houston, TX on Thursday 30
November 2006 following her battle with
lung cancer and heart failure.
She was born Stefania Alda Ath-
elstan in Winnipeg, MB on 3 December
1921 to the late Gunnlaugur Tryggvi Ath-
elstan and Svanhvít Jóhannsdóttir Ath-
elstan. Stephanie’s parents were natives
of Iceland. They immigrated to Winnipeg
in 1910, entering North America through
Ellis Island. Stephanie’s siblings were Ev-
elyn, Johann Arnold and Anna Margaret.
They moved to Minneapolis, MN in 1922.
Stephanie graduated from Wash-
burn High School in Minneapolis in 1940.
After her marriage in 1940 she became a
professional model. In 1955 she started
Savoir-Faire Modeling School in Cal-
gary, AB. She became a licensed nurse
in Michigan in 1965. She earned a BRE
from Trinity Bible College in 1980.
Beginning in 1988 she started a
career as both a storyteller and writer
of stories. She entertained children and
grownups alike with her many stories.
She travelled widely in North America,
Iceland, Europe and India.
Stephanie is survived by her hus-
band of more than 66 years, Richard
Wilson Brewer; her son, Richard Wilson
Brewer, Jr., his wife Paula Louise Brewer
and their daughter Anna Genevieve
Brewer of Cohoes, NY; her daughter,
Stephanie Louise Ryan of Novi, MI and
her children Kristin Nicole Moretto of
Lansing, MI and Linley Anne Moretto and
her infant daughter Ava Grace Moretto
of Northville, MI; her son David Scott
Brewer and his wife Kathryn Elizabeth
Brewer of Houston, TX and their children
Elizabeth Nicole Brewer of Houston, TX,
Jared Scott Brewer and his wife Natasha
Zelensky of Alexandria, VA and Jessica
Eileen Brewer of Houston, TX; her son,
Mark Kenneth Brewer and his wife Kath-
ryn Lydia Brewer and their daughters
Sarah Gloria Brewer, Marissa Stephanie
Brewer, who died in infancy, and Erika
Renata Brewer, all of Oak Park, IL.
A memorial service was held at
Klein Funeral Home, 16131 Champion
Forest Drive, Klein, TX on 4 December
2006 with the Reverend Gershon Suan
officiating.
In lieu of flowers, a donation to the
American Cancer Society in Stephanie’s
name would be appreciated.
* * *
Marvin Freeman Thorvardson
16 September 1923 –
7 December 2006
In loving memory of Marvin Free-
man Thorvardson, who passed away 7
December 2006.
Marvin was born in Riverton, MB
on 16 September 1923. Son of Hermann
Ásgeir Hallson Thorvardson, born in
Reykjavík, Iceland in 1896 and mother
Sesselja Sigridur Johannesson, born 10
December 1898 in Svold, ND.
As a boy he grew up in Geysir and
Bissett. As a young man he joined the
RCAF, serving in the European theatre
in support of Aerial Reconnaissance and
Fighter Group aircraft.
Upon his return from the war, Mar-
vin lived in Bissett, Riverton and Gimli
and later moved to Winnipeg where he
married Shirley Thorvaldson, whose par-
ents were Marino and Ingibjorg (Baldwin-
son) Thorvaldson. They had five children:
daughters Lesley (Jackson), 58 from
Richmond, CA who has one daughter
Erin, 22; Irene Thorvardson, 55, from Las
Vegas, NV and Marnie Thorvardson, 48,
from Index, WA who has one son, Kyle
(Carson), 19 and daughter Taylor (Car-
son), 17; sons James Thorvardson, 50,
from Tucson, AZ who has three sons,
Robert, 25, Jacob, 22, and Steven, 20;
and Dean Thorvardson, 45, from River-
ton.
Marvin had one brother, Stefan
Hjalmar, born 13 December 1925. Steve
was married to Valgerdur Sigmundson
of Hnausa. They had a son, Barry, and
a daughter, Brenda. Steve also served
in the RCAF as a tail-gunner during the
Second World War, and was shot down
and was a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft
III until the end of the war. Marvin was
very proud of his brother and spoke of
him often to his family.
During the Second World War, Her-
man was away guarding German prison-
ers of war and Steve and Marvin were in
Europe serving in the Air Force. Sesselja
was alone in Riverton and took in Irvin
and Diane Olafson who became part of
Marvin’s family when he returned from
the war.
Marvin worked on the roads from
the Pas to Flin Flon and Riverton to
Matheson Island. In 1960 Marvin and
his family moved to San Jose, CA, where
he worked as a carpenter in the Icelandic
community and as a heavy equipment
operator. Eventually he moved via Blaine,
WA and Helena, MT back to Riverton
where he fished until his early 70s.
Marvin had a strong work ethic and
he always worked conscientiously to do
his best. His work is done — he can rest
now.
Neil Bardal Inc., in care of arrange-
ments.
* * *
Desa Porter
May 1913 — 22 August 2006
The granddaughter of early Ice-
landic settlers to the Foam Lake area
of Saskatchewan, Thordis Sigrun Anne
Porter (Desa), died peacefully on 22 Au-
gust 2006 at Saskatoon City Hospital at
age 93.
Desa was born in May 1913 in the
Fishing Lake area to Inga and Abra-
ham Larson of Stavanger, Norway. Her
maternal grandparents, Stefan Olafson
and Gudrun Hinrikson, emigrated from
Iceland in 1889 and were early settlers in
the Fishing Lake area.
Desa moved with her mother and
sister Runa (Helgason) to Foam Lake at
an early age and lived here until 1952.
Her father died when she was seven, and
the two girls were brought up with little
money but abundant love.
Desa worked briefly as a hairdress-
er, and in 1940 married Jim Porter, whose
father, William, operated an early general
store and then a hardware store in Foam
Lake. The family moved to Meadow Lake
in 1952 and to Saskatoon in 1956.
Her husband Jim died in 1983 and
daughter Anne, a medical technologist at
the University of Alberta Hospital, passed
away in 1994. Desa is survived by her
daughter Carolyn (Bill) Maskell of Win-
nipeg; son Harold (Elaine) of Uxbridge,
Ont.; son Alistair of St. Albert, Alta.,
grandchildren Andrea Gordon (Dave)
of Winnipeg; Darryl, Jason and Christa
(Will) Maskell of Winnipeg; Trevor and
Debbie Porter of Victoria; and six great-
grandchildren.
In 2004, Desa moved to Luther
Towers in Saskatoon. Even though her
body became frailer, her strong will and
determination kept her going.
Desa seemed to have a sense of in-
ner peace about her. A few years ago, a
family member asked Desa how long she
should be mourned when she passed
away. She thought for a while, then said,
“Not too long, then be happy that I’ve had
such a long, rich and rewarding life.”
Funeral services were held at
Bethel United Church on August 25, with
interment in Foam Lake. Memorial dona-
tions may be made to a charity of your
choice.
* * *
Joan Eleanor (Stefanson) Gislason
9 April 1932 — 28 November 2006
Joan was born in Gimli, MB to Al-
exander and Naomi Holland Stefanson
of Steep Rock, MB. Her paternal grand-
father, farmer-poet Jón Stefánsson from
Skagafjörður, left Iceland as a newly-
wed in 1883 from the port of Akureyri
on the packet boat Craikforth, likely for
Granton/Leith harbour near Edinburgh,
then by train across Scotland to Glasgow
to board an ocean steamer heading for
Quebec City. This was the usual route for
most Icelandic emigrants at the time. The
couple continued to Manitoba, settling on
a farm west of Gimli.
In 1912 he and his wife Sæunn
Jónsdóttir moved, with their daughters
Jonina, Valdina and Anna, and their
grown sons Alexander, Stefan and
Palmi, northwest across the Interlake
where they homesteaded near Portage
Bay along the shores of Lake Manitoba.
At that time, this was truly the pioneer
fringe, located far beyond more familiar
Icelandic Canadian settlements such as
Lundar and Ashern. The people in this
new district were of diverse backgrounds,
from French Canadian to British, German
to Cree, with a few Icelanders thrown into
the mix. But, when the brothers and their
parents got together they spoke Icelan-
dic.
Much of the land was stony, but
with large areas of natural grassland
along the lake which provided excellent
hay for livestock. Every spring, before cul-
tivating and planting, the land had to be
arduously picked clean of field stones. All
three of Jon’s sons established profitable
and attractive farms, at first going into
partnership for mutual assistance. In the
beginning, the family built their own log
shanties, eventually to be improved and/
or replaced. The outcome was three pro-
ductive contiguous mixed farms, focusing
on beef production. As well, each brother
had the usual array of farm animals and
responsibilities. The nearest community
was Steep Rock, a company town based
on mining limestone for cement aggre-
gate.
Joan was brought up in the midst
of a loving extended rural family, with
uncles and aunts, parents and grandpar-
ents, cousins and good neighbours — all
living in harmony with country life and
the seasons, with the luxury of electricity
and indoor plumbing yet to come down
the road. Nevertheless, it was a happy,
carefree and almost idyllic childhood
shared with family and friends. There was
a special cousin and soul mate, Clara
Stefanson from across the road. Both
girls were destined for bright futures and
challenging careers.
Joan left home for Winnipeg to
complete high school, after which she
trained as a nurse. Around the same time
Clara earned a degree in Education at
the University of Manitoba. As their lives
took different pathways, Joan began her
career in Winnipeg in 1950.
She met her future husband, Óla-
fur Gíslason, an aeronautical engineer
from Iceland, while he was visiting
Hjartarson relatives in Steep Rock. The
couple moved to Toronto, where she first
worked at St. Joseph’s Health Centre,
then Humber Hospital and later with the
Workman’s Compensation Board (ret.
1992). She took up oil painting along the
way as a hobby.
Her cousin Clara married architect
Leslie J. Will from Saskatchewan and
they later moved to Europe for several
years. Upon returning to Canada, they
settled in Toronto. It was beyond the
cousins’ fondest dreams that they should
once again end up living near each other,
but now in Ontario!
Joan passed away after a brief
struggle with cancer. She was prede-
ceased by her parents, her brother Gor-
don, and beloved husband Oli in 1975.
She is survived by her sons Da-
vid (Tammi) and Ian, (Cindy) and three
grandchildren, Krista, Brendan and
Callahan of Bolton ON, her aunt Alice
Dumas Stefanson, who still lives on the
family homestead near Steep Rock, and
several cousins including Clara (Leslie) of
Toronto. Joan was a long time supportive
member of the Icelandic Canadian Club
of Toronto and Oli was a past president.
—
“We are here on earth for a limited
time only, but the spirit of goodness lasts
forever....”
—
— Don Gislason
14 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15 January 2007
First Lutheran Church
580 Victor Street
Winnipeg R3G 1R2
204-772-7444
www.mts.net/~flcwin
Worship with us
Sundays 10:30 a.m.
Pastor Michael Kurtz