Pilot, athlete.
Born at Glenboro on 10 August 1896, son of Jonas Johannesson and Rosa Einarsdottir (1865-?), he moved to Winnipeg in 1897 and attended Somerset School. During the First World War, he served as a fighter pilot and instructor, serving in Egypt and returning to Winnipeg in 1919. In 1920, he played with the Winnipeg Falcons, winning Canada’s first Olympic hockey championship at Antwerp, Belgium.
From 1929 to 1934 he was a charter member, manager and chief flying instructor at the Winnipeg Flying Club. During the Second World War, he was a flight instructor for Royal Canadian Air Force pilots. At a 1942 federal by-election, he was a Liberal candidate for the Winnipeg North Centre constituency. After the war, he established a flying base at Flin Flon. In 1954, he moved the operation to Rivercrest Airport at Middlechurch. In recognition of his community service, he was given a Golden Boy Award in 1965.
He and wife Holmfridur Margret Elsabeth “Freda” Johannesson (c1900-1969) had four children: Kenneth George Johannesson (1922-1948), Constance Lillian Johannesson (1925-2007, wife of William Richard Appleby), Brian Johannesson, and Lenore Johannesson (wife of Roy E. Williams).
He died at Winnipeg on 25 October 1968 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rivercrest Airstrip (Main Street, RM of West St. Paul)
Birth registrations [Konrad Johannesson, Kenneth Johannesson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Attestation papers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.
Death registration [Kenneth George Johannesson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Somerset pupils today have art collection legacy,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 February 1949.
“Golden Boys honor 12 Manitobans,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 November 1965.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 28 October 1968, page 26.
Obituary [Holmfridur Margret Elsabeth Johannesson], Winnipeg Free Press, 23 April 1969, page 38.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 May 2024
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