Educator.
Born in Iceland on 23 September 1886, son of Gestur Johannsson and Osk Sveinsdottir, his family emigrated to Manitoba in 1887 and settled on a farm near Selkirk. He was educated at Selkirk, Wesley College, and the University of Manitoba, graduating from the latter in 1911.
He taught school in Jon B’Jornson Academy and was a demonstrator in Physics at the University of Manitoba. He was a member of the Academic Department of Wesley College for a year then taught at St. Andrew’s. He served as Principal of Oak River School (1917-1921) before moving to Hamiota where he was Principal of the St. Andrews School (1916-1917) and Hamiota High School (1921-1925). He spent the major portion of his teaching career with the Winnipeg School Division at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate. Following retirement he taught army personnel at Camp Shilo for eight years.
On 20 May 1915, he married Kristin Stefania Arnason (?-?) at Winnipeg. They had three children: Vera Johannsson, Florence Johannsson, and Leonard Johannsson. He was a member of the Masons, Manitoba Teachers’ Federation, IOOF, and Lutheran church. His recreations included football and boating.
He died at Gimli on 24 August 1978.
Marriage registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 25 August 1978, page 130.
We thank Nelson Gerrard and Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 12 May 2023
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