Lögberg-Heimskringla - 01.03.2019, Qupperneq 12

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12 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • March 1 2019
FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS
OBITUARIES
Donovan Carl Einarson
September 16, 1935 –
January 13, 2019 (Age 83)
Donovan Einarson (Don, husband,
father, grandfather, great-grandfather)
passed away quietly at home on
Sunday, January 13 with the family he
loved around him. His last wish was to
remain in his own home. He had spent
many days in hospitals in his last years
and home was his comfort corner.
Don studied Pharmacy at the
University of Saskatchewan and his
pharmacy career spanned many
decades.
Don met and married Beverly
Harman, a young nurse and they lived
and worked in Melfort. It was a faithful
and loving marriage. Their daughter,
Brenda Einarson, was born in Melfort.
Sons Eric and Jon were born after
the move to Luseland. The family
explored the west many summers
before settling in a summer getaway
cottage at Turtle Lake. Family life
was very important to him. His great
capacity to love was extended with the
birth of six granddaughters: Katherine
Starling (Brice), Michelle Kuntz (Brice),
Alexandra Brice, Virginia Brice, Dalynn
McKay and Danae McKay. Great-
grandchildren joined the chain of love
as years passed – Theo and Isla Kuntz,
Stella and Kit Starling and these little
people all came to his bedside in his
last days.
Don had one sister, Carol Burns,
who lives in London, Ontario.
He was a volunteer in many fields
in his younger years – Kinsmen, school
board, church board, Credit Union
board, food bank, community choir.
In 1997 he received the distinctive
provincial Bowl of Hygeia Award for
community service in pharmacy.
He was a multi faceted man of
many talents – scholar, artist, poet,
music and many interests but he was
a modest human being who seldom
spoke of this but quietly enjoyed them.
Heart felt thanks must go to
the extended health care teams who
treated him with skill and kindness
– his doctor-friend Dr. Wentzel, the
hospital team and the blessed Home
Care team who helped me (the bossy
wife-nurse) care for him in our home.
Don was a long-term subscriber
to Lögberg-Heimskringla and was
interested in his Icelandic heritage. He
was a unique and caring man loved by
all his family and we shall miss him
forever.
At his request he will have a
private family service.
Gudrun Stefanie Hudson
Renowned for her expressive
eyes, her warm smiles, her quick wit
and her contagious laughter, Gudrun
Stefanie Hudson is greatly missed by
those who knew her.
Born in Wynyard, Saskatchewan
on November 10, 1929, she grew
up on a farm and was a graduate of
the University of Saskatchewan. She
served as a lab technician in two
Saskatoon hospitals – St. Paul's and
DVA – before moving to Westminster
Hospital in London, Ontario and then
to the Sunnybrook Health Sciences
Centre in Toronto. She was an excellent
skater, golfer and curler.
A proud and inspiring mother
of three sons, a devoted wife, full of
personal strength, she had a selfless
concern for others. Her generosity and
kindness were boundless.
One of the many accomplishments
in her life was the vital assistance she
gave her husband, Godfrey, as he
fought the ramifications of cancer
which had caused the amputation of
his right leg, hip and half of his pelvis
in 1964. At that time he had a three
percent chance of living up to five
years. So effective was her help that
they were able to celebrate their 60th
wedding anniversary shortly before
her passing.
Gudrun Stefanie Hudson, is
greatly missed by her husband and
three sons – Kenneth, Richard and
Timothy. They were at her bedside
in North York General Hospital when
she passed away on August 3, 2016.
Also greatly missing her is her sister,
Sylvia Sanders, in Maryland.
She was predeceased
by sister Olga Albone, brother
Fred and her parents – Olgier and
Kristin Gunnlaugson.
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Last December, the University of Iceland
hosted a symposium on “Icelandic
Canadian Relations, Past and Present,” at
Veröld – The House of Vigdís. The symposium
brought together several distinguished speakers in
the Veröld theatre.
The symposium was hosted by Dr.
Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir, director of the Vigdís
Finnbogadóttir Institute, who was the Beck
Lecturer at the University of Victoria during the
fall on 2017. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir
was on hand to open the event and bring greetings
from the government of Iceland. She reminisced
about her visit to Canada and the United States
last summer and her words indicated that it had
been an inspiring and transformative experience
for her and her understanding of the Icelandic
diaspora.
Jón Atli Benediktsson, rector of the University
of Iceland, spoke about the university’s relationships
with post-secondary institutions overseas with a
special emphasis on Canadian universities and
opportunities for collaboration. “Throughout its
history, the University of Iceland has enjoyed
invaluable support from members of the Icelandic
community in Canada,” he said. “The support has
manifested itself time and again, for example in
the development of our doctoral program. The
support has also created the circumstances for us
to both establish and cultivate significant ties with
universities in Canada; circumstances which are
currently enhanced by the growing demand for
collaboration with the University of Iceland from
universities worldwide. According to international
parameters, the University of Iceland is one of the
top 2 percent of universities in the world.”
He observed that, “we have witnessed a
growing number of Canadian students at our
university. In and by itself, this development
is embraced by all.” This growth in Canadian
enrolment led to the university’s successful
application for charitable status in Canada.
The rector spoke about the fruits of his visit
to the Icelandic communities in Alberta last
summer and the invaluable contacts he made
with the leaders of universities in the province as
well as the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Jón Atli drew attention to the 2016
establishment of “an endowment fund in the
name of Stephan G. Stephansson, (1853-1927),
the legendary author of Icelandic literature in
North America, in honour of his life and work
and the profundity of his artistic expression of
the experience of immigration. His grandson,
Stephan Vilberg Benediktson, and his wife
Adriana, contributed to the founding endowment
in his memory,” which aims to “ promote
scholarly research in Iceland and Canada in the
field of migrant and comparative literature.”
This work will be accomplished through the
establishment of the Stephan G. Stephansson
Professorship in Literature at the University of
Iceland.
The rector closed by reminding everyone
of the university’s strong relations with the
University of Manitoba and he announced that
the universities’ next Partnership Conference will
be held at Veröld from August 29‒30, 2019. The
theme will be migration, past and present, and
presentations are anticipated from a range of fields,
including literature, language, history, museology,
agriculture, engineering, and earth sciences.
Dr. Birna Bjarnadóttir, project manager of the
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute and former chair of
Icelandic language and literature at the University
of Manitoba, spoke about the importance of
research relationships between the two countries
and the fertile ground for those interested in
undertaking research about Icelandic topics in
North America.
Ambassador Hjálmar W. Hannesson,
president of Þjóðræknisfélag Íslendinga (INL
Iceland) and former ambassador to Canada and
consul general in Winnipeg, spoke about the work
of the Icelandic National League in Iceland and
its efforts to cultivate strong relations between
Iceland and North America.
Stefan Jonasson, editor of Lögberg-
Heimskringla, was the guest of honour at the
symposium. He offered the keynote address for
that day: “Lögberg-Heimskringla: A Mirror of
Icelandic Life Among North Americans.” The
substance of his remarks will be reprised at the
Icelandic National League of North America
convention in Winnipeg this coming May.
The event concluded with a reception
sponsored by the Embassy of Canada in
Iceland, which was represented by Sæmundur
Finnbogason, Canada’s trade commissioner
in Reykjavík, who also spoke briefly during
the symposium. Icelanders enthusiastic about
Canada, along with a few homesick people from
Canada and the U.S., lingered over refreshments
and conversation.
ICELANDIC CANADIAN RELATIONS WAS THE
THEME OF UNIVERSITY OF ICELAND SYMPOSIUM
Inside Veröld – The House of Vigdís
PHOTO: STEFAN JONASSON