Community activist.
Born at Winnipeg on 11 September 1938 to Ingebjorg Palsson (1911-1972) and Joseph Thomas Ganton (1890-1945), she grew up in Lundar and began her education at Stony Hill School. After completing her education at the Roman Catholic convent in St. Laurent, she met Gordon Helgi Thorvaldson (1936-2005) at a hockey game and they married in 1960, going on to have two children. With her husband as an employee of Air Canada, she lived in Winnipeg, Montreal, and Nassau intermittently, also spending family time at Husabrekka, a summer cottage at Lundar Beach.
She was active in the Manitoba and Canada Icelandic communities, including fundraising for the Chair of Icelandic Studies at the University of Manitoba; aiding in the revitalization of the Lögberg-Heimskringla newspaper, which is published in Winnipeg and supports Icelandic culture throughout North America; and being involved with the Icelandic National League, serving for a time as President and, in 2007, helping plan the INL convention in Winnipeg. She was well-known in her community for her organizational skills, which she applied to her church activities as well as the Manitoba Curling Association.
In 1993, she published a biography, My Amma and Me. She was also musically talented, enjoyed baking and knitting, and taught classes in the Icelandic language and culture.
She died at her home in Teulon on 25 July 2007.
“Evelyn Kristin Ganton,” Ætt/Kin Family Tree, Ancestry.
“The 73rd Icelandic National League Convection,” Lögberg-Heimskringla, 15 May 1992.
Obituary [Gordon Helgi Thorvaldson], Winnipeg Free Press, 22 February 2005.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 28 Jul 2007.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 16 November 2024
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