Merry Christmas to all my friends!

For almost a year I have done nothing. Except what I want to do - or what my wife wants me to do. Most often that is not what I really want to do - but it has to be done. And I realize - even while I'm working on it - those things are the most important things to do at that moment.
Anyway, during this first year of retirement, though caused by my old age, I have never actually thought of me as an old man. Never really thought of me getting older and older, probably because my health is good - maybe also because the longevity of Icelanders are amongst the best in the world and therefore I'm expecting many good years ahead - Knock on Wood! Well, "many" is here a relative expression.
Recently, Sólveig Pálsdóttir, a lady of 109 years and 69 days, died here in Iceland, then the oldest living Icelandic person and also the one who has lived the longest. Born 20 Aug 1897, d. 28 Oct 2006. Icelandic record? Well - not really. Surely the oldest living person in Iceland, but another Icelandic lady has lived the longest of them all and she lived almost all her life in Canada. Guðrún Björg Björnsdóttir, maybe better known as Runa Arnason, who died in Canada in 1998 became 109 years and 310 days old. See Table below. Guðrún Björg emigrated only 4 years old with her parents, Björn Jónsson and Guðrún Grímsdóttir, in 1892. In 1915 she married Jóhann Vilhjálmur Árnason (1885-1964) in Gimli, Manitoba, and they had nine children and of course many many descendants. I presume at least some of the readers know this family.
Below is a list of Icelandic emigrants who reached to be 100 years old or more in the new country. Of course this list is just a beginning of a bigger list which I hope you will help me to compile. If you know of any Icelandic immigrant who reached to be 100 years old or more please let me know with all the information necessary, which is above all, exact day of birth and death.

Icelanders (i.e. born in Iceland) in North America who lived to be 100 years or more
Name	Home	Date of Birth	Date of Death	Age at Death
Steinunn Hjálmarsdóttir	Víðir-settlement, Manitoba, Canada	30.05.1817	01.11.1917	100 yrs
Kristján Hallsson	Hallson, North Dakota, U.S.	08.09.1817	22.11.1917	100 yrs
Einar Guðmundsson	Hensel, North Dakota, U.S.	29.01.1835	22.10.1939	104 yrs
Sveinbjörn Björnsson	Walhalla, North Dakota, U.S.	08.12.1843	02.05.1945	101 yrs
Páll Jónsson	Geysir-settlement, Manitoba, Canada	20.08.1848	13.02.1951	102 yrs
Kristján G. Kristjánsson	Eyford, North Dakota, U.S.	07.06.1850	31.03.1953	102 yrs
Guðrún Nordal	Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.	06.11.1852	15.04.1953	100 yrs
Björg Jónsdóttir	Minneota, Minnesota, U.S.	26.01.1853	04.04.1953	100 yrs
Margrét Þorbjarnardóttir	Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada	17.09.1853	01.05.1959	105 yrs
Kristín Jónsdóttir	Mountain, North Dakota, U.S.	08.12.1853	14.07.1956	102 yrs
Elísabet Eyjólfsdóttir	Churchbridge, Sask., Canada	13.04.1854	07.09.1954	100 yrs
Vigdís Bjarnadóttir	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada	17.08.1855	25.11.1957	102 yrs
Guðjón Vilhjálmsson	Minneota, Minnesota, U.S.	19.10.1858	19.03.1960	101 yrs
Ingiríður Guðmundsdóttir Ingiríður Johnson	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada	21.07.1859	11.05.1962	102 yrs
Sigrún Guðmundsdóttir Sigrun Smith	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada	05.03.1861	09.05.1962	101 yrs
Guðríður Guðmundsdóttir Gudridur Thorfinnsson	Hensel, North Dakota, U.S.	01.05.1863	00.00.1964	101 yrs
Rósa Teitsdóttir Rosa Hannesson	Pembina, North Dakota, U.S.	07.06.1863	11.04.1967	103 yrs
Sigurður Sölvason	Wynyard, Sask., Canada	10.10.1865	00.12.1966	101 yrs
Auðbjörg Guðnadóttir	Glendora, California, U.S.	23.06.1871	08.10.1972	101 yrs
Ásmundur Sæmundsson	Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S.	26.05.1872	15.04.1974	101 yrs
Guðbjörg Júlíana Jónsdóttir	Vancouver, B. C., Canada	17.07.1872	05.07.1974	101 yrs
Jóhanna Stefándsdóttir Johanna Solvason	Wynyard, Sask., Canada	04.12.1873	26.07.1981	107 yrs
Steinunn Jónsdóttir	Foam Lake, Sask., Canada	01.04.1874	28.04.1974	100 yrs
Guðrún Einarsdóttir	Mozart, Sask., Canada	18.03.1877	27.01.1983	105 yrs
Dómhildur Jóhannsdóttir Domhildur Johnson	Wynyard, Sask., Canada	13.10.1878	00.00.1981	103 yrs
Málfríður Friðriksdóttir	Swan River, Manitoba, Canada	19.06.1879	08.05.1984	104 yrs
Guðrún Björg Björnsdóttir Runa Arnason	Betel, Gimli, Manitoba, Canada	20.10.1888	26.08.1998	109 yrs
Eiríkur Sigfússon Eiríkur Einarson	Betel, Gimli, Manitoba, Canada	13.10.1890	25.05.1996	105 yrs
Guðrún Guðjónsdóttir	Betel, Gimli, Manitoba, Canada	13.05.1895	29.08.1996	101 yrs
Salbjörg Sigurðardóttir Salbjorg Solvason Mercer	Theodore, Sask., Canada	07.06.1895	23.07.1997	102 yrs
Pálína Brynjólfsdóttir Pauline Johnson	Lundar, Manitoba, Canada	14.11.1895	23.04.2000	104 yrs
Sveinbjörg Jónsdóttir	Wiarton, Ontario, Canada	18.10.1896	23.10.1998	102 yrs
Margrét Sveinsdóttir	Calgary, Alberta, Canada	08.07.1905	00.12.2005	100 yrs
This list is compiled by Jónas Ragnarsson (jr.is/langlifi) and Hálfdan Helgason (halfdan.is)

This is a list of 33 persons, 11 in Manitoba, 8 in North Dakota, 7 in Saskatchewan, 3 in Minnesota, 1 in Br. Columbia, 1 in Alberta, 1 in Ontario and 1 in California. Of course there must me more. For instance, a great number of Icelanders settled down in Washington state and I'm convinced that amongst them must have been some or someone who reached the age of one hundred. Please help me to find them.

It's interesting to notice that three sisters on my list of Icelandic immigrants reached the age of 100 years or more. Sigrun Smith who reached the age of 101, Gudridur Thorfinnsson became also 101 yrs and Ingiríður Johnson became 102 years old. Their brothers, Bardi and Skuli became 93 and 67 respectively. An average of 93 years. Their mother, Gudridur Gudmundsdottir Skulason, became 92 yrs old.
Johanna Solvason (107 yrs) was Sigurdur Sölvason's (101 yrs) wife. Their daughter was Salbjorg Solvason Mercer who became 102 years old. Jóhanna's brother Ólafur became 93 yrs and their mother Lilja Jónsdóttir became 99 years old.
Auðbjörg Guðnadóttir´s (101 yrs) brother, Sigurbjarni Guðnason reached only to be 36 years old. Died from the Spanish flue in 1918. His two daughters are still living, 97 and 91 years old.

This notice is for you who did not read my last Newsletter (#53). Well - for you too who did read it which was mainly about Nelson Gerrard's project Silent Flashes. So pick up the newsletter here - takes only a second - and read about Nelson's huge and very interesting task.