The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.2004, Side 13

Vol. 58 #4
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
159
Wynyard Family Gives Dad
Viking Burial
by Marilee Johannesson with Darrell Gudmundson
The Johanneson family of Wynyard is
proud of their Viking heritage. When their
father Rod Johanneson succumbed to heart
failure at 59, they set about designing a fit-
ting celebration to mark the end of his life.
Rod married Marilee Goodman in
1963, and they had three strapping sons
and one daughter. Eldest son Randy, an
Advanced Medical Technician with the
local ambulance service, has three children,
April, Elesha and Darren. Rick, father of
two children, Jacqueline and Jason, is man-
ager of Lilydale Foods, Wynyard's premier
employer. Third son Ron lives with wife
Julie in Calgary, and has his own company,
Techworks Solutions. Daughter Cindy, the
youngest, is a career counselor.
Rod made sure that his children appre-
ciated their Icelandic heritage. He enjoyed
his role as 'Afi' and spent a lot of time with
his grandchildren.
Rod's father Rognvaldur (Reggie)
fished in the winter months on Hecla
Island, where he met Johanna Grimolfson.
They married and moved to a farm north of
Wynyard when
son Rodney was
six. At that time
Rod knew no
English.
Rod had
struggled with
heart disease for
some years, and
he had asked his
children and
grandchildren
to give him a
real Viking
send-off.
Rick
searched for
plans for a real
Viking ship, and
the preference was for a full Gokstad-style
ship (The ship found at Gokstad in
Norway was 76.5 feet long, 17.5 feet wide,
and had sixteen oars per side). However,
plans were found for the Skuldelev, also a
Knarr, the original being 54 feet long. It is
thought to resemble the type Eric the Red
might have used.
Rick then scaled the blueprints to 1/7
scale, just over 7 feet long, with 4 ribs and
a 40-inch beam. Obviously it was not built
to sail, but it served very well as a symbol.
They did not pick out a bent oak for the
keel. The boards were steamed and bent
four at a time, using a pot on the stove and
a PVC pipe to carry the steam. The grand-
sons kept the boards wet with a garden
hose.
The sons made the comment that their
dad would have matched the wood grain
with greater care, but for ceremonial pur-
poses, the boat served well.
The boat was carried by truck to the
lakeshore, to a spot selected by Randy.
The lake was dead calm, and as the August
sun set it
glowed red
and huge,
casting a
fiery glow
onto the
g 1 a s s -1 i k e
surface of
the water.
At the
water's edge,
the pine box
carrying the
ashes of
Rodney
Johannesson
were placed
into his
Viking ship
The Johannesson family from left to right: Rick, Rod, Marilee,
Randy, Ron and Cindy.