Engineer.
Born at Winnipeg on 14 July 1924 to Jon Bjarnason Thorsteinsson (1898-1953) and Agnes Helen Millidge (1897-1966), he graduated from Norwood Collegiate in 1942 and was an active member in Boys Parliament, serving as Premier of the youth organization in 1942.
At the age of 19 he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and was sent to HMCS Kings, a naval college in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he completed the Naval Officer’s course, specializing in sonar techniques for the Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (ASDIC). He spent the remainder of the war on HMCS Blairmore, a minesweeper in the north Atlantic Ocean. Post-war, he remained in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve from 1946 to 1974, reaching the rank of Commander RCNR.
After the war, he enrolled at the University of Manitoba and graduated with a BSc in Electrical Engineering, then enjoyed a professional career that began in Brandon as plant general manager of FPE Pioneer Electric, later as Vice-President of the same firm. In 1959, he married Beryl Murdoch (1920-1999) and they went on to have two children.
In 1995, he retired from his role with Public Works Canada at Winnipeg. He took on several consulting projects independently, driven by his personal interests, and also stayed active after retirement through the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Manitoba, serving on the board of the Emerging Issues Committee until falling ill in 2006.
Other associations and roles of which he was a part include a Director at Brandon College (1965-1970); Chairman of Finance for the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium; President of the Naval Officers Association, Winnipeg Branch (1957-1958); and Honorary Life Member and Wardroom Officer Mess of HMCS Chippawa. He was also active in volunteer work with young people through the naval cadets in the 1950s, specifically John Travers Cornwell VC (Victoria Cross) at HMCS Chippawa. In his last years, he mentored his grandson, Jordan Thorsteinsson, through the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps at HMCS Chippawa.
He died at Winnipeg on 15 July 2007 and was buried in the Little Britain Church Cemetery.
Birth registration [Joan Edwin Bjarni Thorsteinsson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Beryl Thorsteinsson], Winnipeg Free Press, 3 January 2000.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 17 January 2007.
“John Edwin Bjarni Thorsteinsson,” Thorsteinsson Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 16 November 2024
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
