BALDUR R. STEFANSSON

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BALDUR R. STEFANSSON Dr. Baldur Stefansson died on January 3, 2002 at the age of 84. Baldur is survived by his wife Sigga, children, Bjorgvin, Helga and Paul; their respective spouses, Miriam, Michalis, and Louise; grandchildren, Stefan, Jennifer, Aris and Matthew; sisters, Fjola and Lilja; and many nieces and nephews. Baldur was born April 26, 1917, at Vestfold, MB, son of Gudmundur and Jonina (nee Halldorsdottir) Stefansson. In addition, to his parents, he was predeceased by a brother Halldor, and sisters, Lauga, Gudny, and Gudrun. Three siblings died in childhood. Baldur was raised on the family farm where hard times forced him to interrupt his studies in Grade 9. However, upon leaving the army after the Second World War, at the age of 28, he was able to satisfy his thirst for knowledge by finishing high school and then by completing his BSc, MSc, and later his PHD in the Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba. He began working at the university in 1952 and remained a member of the university faculty for his entire working life until he retired at the age of 68. He was an internationally recognized plant breeder who dedicated his life to successfully transforming the lowly rape seed plant into a high quality edible oil plant, and thus became known as the "Father of Canola". Among the numerous awards he received for his achievements are, Order of Canada, Royal Bank Award, GCIRC International Award of Research, Wolf Prize (Israel), Order of Manitoba, Order of the Falcon and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Manitoba and Iceland. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 8, 2002 at the First Lutheran Church, 580 Victor St., Winnipeg. Interment will follow at Garry Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dr. Baldur Stefansson Award in Plant Science - University of Manitoba. NEIL BARDAL INC. 949-2200

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 07, 2002