The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1971, Page 42

4D
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
WINTER 1971
(continued from page 22)
ICELANDERS DN VANCOUVER ISLAND
foreign service officer in the depart-
ment of external affairs. He -was as-
sistant chief of the consular division as
Canada developed her consular ser-
vices and supervised the establishment
of many of the new offices.
In 1950 he transferred to the depart-
ment of resources and development,
which later became northern affairs
and national resources. His work
brought him into contact with all
branches of the department, and, in
particular, with northern affairs as a
special field.
When the Arctic division was creat-
ed in 1954, Mr. Sivertz was appointed
chief of the division, and has since
travelled widely in the north.
In 1957 he succeeded F. J. G. Cun-
ningham as director of the northern
administration branch. On July 10,
1963, Northern Affairs Minister Ar-
thur Lang appointed him commission-
er of the Northwest Territories, suc-
ceeding Gordon Robertson.”
Bent Sivertz served with distinction
in that capacity until his retirement
on January 16, 1967. (Conf. tribute to
him paid in the Commons as recorded
in Hansard from that time). Since his
retirement, he and his wife have made
their home in Victoria.
Samuel, the youngest of the Sivertz-
brothers, following his distinguished
service in the Canadian Navy during
World War II, attended Western U ri-
versity graduating with a degree in
Geography. For a number of years he
has been office manager of London
Laboratories Ltd., in New Haven,
Connecticut,
The prominence achieved by him
and his brother, Dr. Victorian Sivertz,
in the field of higher education has
already been noted. A number of other
of the first generation descendants of
the Icelandic pioneers on Vancouver
Island have also made a name for
themselves in the realm of public
education.
Walter Brynjolfson, a graduate of
the University of British Columbia,
had, when he retired in 1967, long
been prominently identified with the
public schools in Victoria. He served
for two decades as Principal of Mon-
terey Elementary School, and -had, be-
fore his retirement, become Supervis-
ing Principal and Administrator for
Richmond, Uplands, Cerebral Palsy
and Monterey Elementary School in
Victoria. His brother Stefan (Steve)
likewise entered the teaching profes-
sion, and served for some time as
Principal of the Powell River High
School.
After graduating and teaching for
several years at St. Ann’s Academy in
Victoria, Margaret Brandson (Mrs.
Richard Beck), went to California, re-
ceiving an A.B. degree both from the
School of Fine Arts in San Francisco
and the University of California in
Berkeley. She was for years a member
of the Faculty of Everett Junior High
School in San Francisco. Active in Ice-
landic-American cultural affairs she
served for years as Secretary of The
Icelandic Association of Northern
California and as President of The
Leif Erickson League in San Francisco.
For reasons of space, the above ac-
count of the achievements in the field
of education has been limited to the
first generation of the sons and daugh-
ters of the Icelandic pioneers on Van-