Memorable Manitobans: Gestur Kristjansson (1922-2006)

Physician, community activist.

Born at Winnipeg on 16 October 1922, son of Ludvik and Gestny Kristjansson, he attended Daniel McIntryre Collegiate and, while in school, worked with his father plastering and stuccoing houses. At 17, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served in the Second World War teaching wireless radio communications. After the war, he completed high school and entered the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. After practicing in North Dakota for a time, he returned to Manitoba where he practiced at the Osborne Medical Centre and co-founded the Westbrook Medical Centre, practicing there from 1960 to 1996. Over the years, he volunteered at Villa Rosa, for the Shrine Circus, and for many professional and amateur sports teams in Winnipeg. He also served as President for the General Practitioners Association of Manitoba and on the board of the Seven Oaks Hospital. An accomplished sailor, he won several provincial championships. He co-founded the Zig Zag Yacht Club at Clearwater Bay, Ontario and taught boat safety for the Canadian Power Squadron Corps. An avid golfer, he represented Manitoba in the Canadian Seniors Championships. He was involved in the Icelandic community, serving as President of the Leif Ericsson Club and the Icelandic Canadian Fron and helped to establish the Scandinavian Cultural Centre. He died at Clearwater Bay, Ontario on 30 June 2006 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 5 July 2006.

Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

This page was prepared by Erin Harley.

Page revised: 31 January 2019

Memorable Manitobans

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.

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