Businessman, philanthropist.
Born at Odense, Denmark on 14 October 1930, son of Hans Frederick Albrechtsen and Andrea Albrecthsen, his childhood was spent in the village of Haagerup. He worked as a diesel mechanic and served in the Danish army before coming to Canada in February 1954. He settled at Virden where he worked as a vehicle mechanic for oil drillers. He later bought a truck to haul water and oil to the oil drilling sites. He saved enough money to buy a second truck and, by 1956, when he founded Paul’s Hauling, he had eight trucks. He later moved to Brandon and purchased a financially troubled trucking firm, operating it at a profit until moving to Winnipeg in 1959. There, the business grew until it eventually operated throughout Canada.
He was married twice, first in 1956 to Margaret Anne Boyd “Peggy” Anderson (c1927-1994) with whom he had four children. His second marriage in 1981 to Mary Lou Ranson produced two more children. In his later years, he donated generously to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation, St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre, FortWhye Foundation, Reh-Fit Centre, St. Paul’s High School, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and other charities. In recognition of his public philanthropy, he was inducted into the Order of Manitoba (2016) and Order of Canada (2017).
He died at Winnipeg on 7 July 2019.
Obituary [Margaret Anne Boyd Albrechtsen], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 July 1994, page 27.
Trucking in Manitoba: A History by Randy Rostecki, Manitoba Trucking Association, 1997, pages 285-286.
“Best and brightest honoured,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 July 2016, page 2.
“‘Larger than life’ Winnipeg philanthropist, hospital donor dies,” CBC News, 8 July 2019.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 13 July 2019.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 24 April 2021
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