Engineer.
Born at Winnipeg on 14 May 1923 to Olavia Odalbjoorg Bardal (1895-1993) and Guttormur Finnbogason (1892-1971), he served in the Second World War as a Flying Officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force and air-bombing instructor in Canada and overseas. In 1944, he married Nona May Smith (1922-2012), with whom he went on to have four children.
He then attended the University of Manitoba and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1950. Following graduation, he took a training course with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation at Hamilton, Ontario, but soon decided that he preferred Manitoba’s climate and accepted an offer to become Assistant Traffic Engineer for the City of Winnipeg, where he gradually worked his way up the ranks and founded the Western Canada Traffic and Parking Association, also serving as its first President.
In 1954, he joined the Association of Professional Engineers in Manitoba, where over the years he served on many committees, as well as Chairperson of the Public Relations Committee and the Practice and Ethics Committee. He received an Outstanding Service Award from the Association in 1976, praised for his qualities of dedication to his profession, and his sense of duty and fair-mindedness. His 30-year career with the City of Winnipeg culminated in the position of Commissioner of Works and Operations.
Community activities included President, Board of Trustees of the First Lutheran Church of Winnipeg, and President of the Icelandic Canadian Club of Winnipeg. He also served as President and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Betel Home Foundation, a non-profit organization that owns and operates two personal and extended-care homes in Gimli and Selkirk. He enjoyed duck hunting, curling, and golf.
He died at Winnipeg on 23 August 2006 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.
“A Luncheon with W. H. Finnbogason, P.Eng,” The Manitoba Professional Engineer newsletter, March 1964.
“Wilmar Herbert Finnbogason,” The Manitoba Professional Engineer newsletter, Awards Received 1976.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 27 August 2006.
“Wilmar Herbert Finnbogason,” Catherine Berg Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 8 November 2022
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