A message from Kristjana Magnusson Clark

MARGARET ELINORA RASMUSSEN (nee Sigvaldason) passed away on January 1, 2012, surrounded by her loving family. Margaret was the youngest child of Bjorn and Lara Sigvaldason of Arborg, Manitoba. She was born into a loving and close-knit family of 16 children.
She and her sister Beatrice were the youngest and were always referred to as the little girls in our family. One particular picture stands out in my memory. Margaret and Beatrice sitting in the little wagon we had at home, with one of the younger boys, Jonas, Gunnar or Einar taking turns pulling the wagon around our yard, with Buster, our dog joyfully running and barking alongside the little wagon with it’s precious cargo.

Margaret grew up and attended Elementary and High school in Arborg, then went into Nurses Training at the Winnipeg General Hospital. There she met and made numerous friends amongst her nursing classmates, some of whom became lifelong friends. Margaret’s spirit of adventure took her to many interesting work experiences and venues, amongst them Alaska, California, and British Columbia. She was nursing at the Royal Columbia hospital when she met Ann Rasmussen who was in nurses training there and they became good friends. Ann had a brother named Eric who began asking his sister about Margaret, what she was like and where she was from. Eric was working around the Arborg area at the time so one day Ann said to Margaret – “I haven’t seen my brother Eric for a long time. Do you think you could contact him for me?” Margaret was shy around young men and replied hesitantly, “I really don't know about that.” Eventually Margaret did contact Eric and the rest, as they say, is history. Margaret and Eric were married in 1961 at Arborg, Manitoba, with Margaret's brother Einar as best man. Einar told Margaret and Eric he would look after their transportation to and from the church. He painted our cutter a bright red color and added tinkling bells to our horse May's traces so Margaret and Eric rode in unique style, by horse and cutter to and from the church.

Margaret and Eric settled in Edgewater, B.C. where Eric was employed as Land Manager for a development firm and, as well had a christmas tree business and farm. They had two children, Thora and Reid. Thora lives in Invermere and is employed as Strata Manager for a condominium firm. Reid and his wife Heidi live in Dallas, Texas where he is owner of Benefit Brainstorm, a company that sells discounted Medical Insurance.

Margaret enjoyed the busy life they led and she loved their surrounding area, with its amenities for hiking and camping trips. In the early 1980's they began hosting Sigvaldason family reunions every five years as their property was large enough to hold campers and trailers and motor homes for the August long weekend. We would arrive on Friday evening and Margaret would have a camp style dinner waiting for us all. On Saturday there would be races and games for the children, on Saturday night there would be a catered dinner, then a concert with family providing song, dance and story telling.

Margaret Eric moved to Invermere in their retirement years. Here their lovely home surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, looked out over the Columbia River far below. Our last family reunion with Margaret was in 2010. These are memories we hold dear; they are remembrances of fun and laughter, the joy of being together, with Margaret and Eric and family always welcoming, always calm, cool and collected. Margaret will always be remembered by all of us.

Rest in Peace dear Sister.
Kristjana Magnusson Clark
White Rock, BC