Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.11.2018, Qupperneq 12

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12 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • November 1 2018
Ljósanótt Honourees
In Memoriam
DIRECTORS
The Honourable Mr. Justice Kristjan
Stefanson
Kris was a director of Lögberg-
Heimskringla and a supporter of our
paper for many years. He was intensely
proud of his Icelandic heritage and
worked very hard to preserve it.
Kris’s parents were Eric Stefansson
and his wife, Sigrun Sigurdson. He
was born in Eriksdale, Manitoba, and
the family moved to Gimli when Kris
was five. He attended the University of
Manitoba, earning his BA and his LL.B
degrees.
Called to the Manitoba Bar in 1970,
he went on to have a highly successful
career. He began with the law firm
Aikins MacAulay and Thorvaldson
and ended as a justice on the Manitoba
Court of Queen’s Bench in the Family
Division.
Kris was heavily involved in
Íslendingadagurinn for many years
and was made an honourary lifetime
member. He was known for his abilities
to escort visiting Icelandic dignitaries
and for his many efforts to strengthen
ties between Iceland and Manitoba
Evelyn Thorvaldson
Evelyn served on the board of
directors for Lögberg-Heimskringla for
the years 2000 to 2007. She was also
active in the Valuing Icelandic Presence
campaign to support the Icelandic Chair
at the University of Manitoba.
Evelyn was born Evelyn Kristin
Ganton, in Winnipeg, to parents Joseph
and Ingibjorg (née Palsson). She grew
up in Lundar and married Gordon Helgi
Thorvaldson in 1960. The couple had
two children, Paul and Signy, and four
beloved grandchildren: Matthew, Kevin,
Blake, and Alexis.
Evelyn was devoted to her family,
but somehow found time to serve
as the first female president of the
Icelandic National League of North
America beginning in 1991, host the
INLNA convention in Winnipeg, teach
Icelandic, bake a plethora of Icelandic
goodies, and knit. She authored a book
entitled My amma and me and was
active in her church and the Manitoba
Curling Association. Evelyn passed
away on July 25, 2007.
Joe (Johannes) Sigurdur Laxdal
Joe served on the board of directors
from 2003 to 2006. He was born here in
Winnipeg and grew up in the West End.
His first job was as a copywriter at the
Winnipeg Eaton’s store. He eventually
started his own business, J.S. Laxdal.
The family lived in Edmonton, Alberta,
and in Saskatoon, Regina, and Yorkton,
Saskatchewan, before returning to
Winnipeg. Joe was a proud Icelander; he
belonged to the Saskatoon and Regina
Scandinavian clubs and never missed
Íslendingadagurinn in Gimli. Joe
worked with Lillian Vilborg on her book
Harðfiskur & Skyr to have it published
by the paper. (Copies of the book are still
available.) He also wrote the foreword
to the book. While in Regina, Joe was
involved with many organizations such
as the United Way, Tourism Regina, and
the Western Canada Summer Games.
Walter Sopher
Walter Sopher was devoted and
hardworking in his nine years as a
director of Lögberg-Heimskringla. He
had long been involved in the paper
when he joined the board in 2002.
Walter was born in Riverton,
Manitoba, to Valdimar Sopher and
his wife Gislina (Gilla) Gislason. He
left school at 14, served in the Royal
Canadian Air Force for eight years, and
then worked in construction most of his
life.
Walter organized a very successful
subscriptions campaign during the
summer of 2005, personally visiting
many residents of the Manitoba Interlake.
This should have come as no surprise, as
Walter’s tenure as membership secretary
in Edmonton’s Norðurljós Chapter of
Icelandic National League of North
America saw its membership more than
double through personal visits.
Working in Canada’s north for over
a quarter of a century, Walter never lost
his ties to his Icelandic heritage. He and
wife Julie began an importing business,
Icelandic Goods by Brendan, which was
operational until his death in November
2013.
He was president of the INLNA
from 2004 to 2006 and spent untold
hours volunteering his time and energy
with AA and with his local hospital
foundation.
Ragnar Bergman
Ragnar (Ray) Bergman served as
a board member for over five years. In
the summer of 2005, he joined Walter
Sopher and Vi Bjarnason Hilton on a
Lögberg-Heimskringla subscriptions
campaign throughout the Manitoba
Interlake.
Ray was the eldest of five children
born to Jóhannes (Joe) Bergmann
and his wife, Helen Sesselja (Sella)
Magnusson. Both parents came from the
Interlake and lived in the Arborg area.
Ray graduated from Red River
College as an electrician and, after
working construction for a few years,
joined the Government of Manitoba
where he worked for 34 years until
his retirement in 2007. He married
Mary Hurak and together they raised
one daughter, Wendy. Ragnar’s three
grandchildren were his great joy: Katie,
Ben, and Carson.
He realized a lifetime dream of
visiting Iceland where he travelled there
with his wife in 2012.
Garry Oddleifson
Garry served as a board member
for Lögberg-Heimskringla between
the years of 2007 and 2015. Prior to
that he had volunteered for the paper
since 2004.
Garry was born in Winnipeg to
Unnar Oddleifur (Leifi) Oddleifson
and his wife, Jonina Sigurdsson,
who were both born in the Rural
Municipality of Bifrost in Manitoba.
He graduated from the Manitoba
Institute of Technology with an
architectural technology diploma.
Garry worked in Toronto for many
years and never forgot his Icelandic
heritage. He joined the Icelandic Club
in that city and remained a member all
his life.
His passion for his heritage was
shown in his service as president
of the Icelandic National League
of North America, president of the
Icelandic Canadian Frón in Winnipeg,
his membership in Selkirk’s Brúin
Chapter, and in lending his voice to
the Sólskrikjan Choir. He won the
INLNA’s highest honour, the Laurence
S.G. Johnson Lifetime Achievement
Award. He served on the Valuing
Icelandic Presence (VIP) committee
for the year 2000, supporting the
Icelandic department at the University
of Manitoba.
The paper and the Icelandic
community as a whole lost a faithful
and devoted friend when Garry passed
away in May of this year.
EDITORS
Lillian Vilborg MacPherson
Lillian served as editor of Lögberg-
Heimskringla for three years. Following
her death from cancer in 2005, a book
of her editorials was published.
Lillian was born in Winnipeg,
the eldest of three children of
Hafsteinn Bjarnason and his wife,
Lillian Johannson. She studied at the
University of Saskatchewan, earning
her BA in English and history, and
then went on to the University of
Washington in Seattle, where she
was awarded her MLS degree. As a
professional librarian, she went on to
the University of Calgary, where she
graduated with her law degree. This
led her to her chosen career path of law
librarianship, in which she excelled at
the University of Alberta for over a
quarter of a century.
Lillian and her husband Lorne
MacPherson had two children, Arne
and Erika.
Joan Eyolfson Cadham
Joan wrote articles for Lögberg-
Heimskringla for years before
becoming our editor, a position she
undertook in mid-2011. She served in
this position for over three years.
Joan was born in Wadena,
Saskatchewan, the youngest of 12
children born to Helgi Eyolfson and his
wife, Olof (Olive) Borgfjord. She had
three children from her first marriage:
Joseph, Ruth, and Inga. She married
Jack Cadham and discovered the joy
of sailing with him. She loved her cats
who, in turn, loved her.
Joan authored several books and
contributed to many publications
and news outlets, including the CBC.
She wrote for and edited a variety of
publications.
She was very involved with
Vatnabyggð, the Icelandic club in
Saskatchewan, and she was awarded
the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond
Jubilee Medal for her contributions and
efforts to culture and history.
L-R: The Honourable Mr. Justice Kristjan Stefanson, Evelyn Thorvaldson, Walter Sopher, J.S. Laxdal.
Below: Ragnar Bergman, Garry Oddleifson. Lillian Vilborg MacPherson, Joan Eyolfson Cadham.