– especially when it comes to balancing family responsibilities, language barriers, and pursuing an education. They hope this scholarship will alleviate some of the financial burdens that often prevent students from reaching their full potential.

She spent the majority of her adult life in western Manitoba raising her five children. She was an active member of the community, working to establish a library and recreation commission, serving as a Beaver, Cub and 4-H leader, and serving two terms as a school board trustee. Summers always included visits to Gimli to visit friends and play on the beach.

With four kids in school and a new baby at home, Teri returned to school in 1996 and received diplomas in Business Administration and Rural Development. She then spent the remainder of her career working in community development and for non-profits. Upon retirement, she returned to live in Gimli where she continues to volunteer and participate in activities that make Gimli a better place. She and her family set up this fund to support community development projects in the R.M. of Gimli, especially those involving environmental issues, rural healthcare, community beautification, the arts, tourism and social issues such as affordable housing.

Shelley’s father lost their battles with cancer and their daughter, Tanis, is a cancer survivor who, following her battle, pursued a career in nursing that led to her work as a chemo nurse. Tanis was able to take her chemo treatment at the chemo outreach in Gimli, which is why this fund is dedicated to supporting the Cancer Care Program in Gimli and will be used to enhance and support the care of the patients in the Cancer Care Outreach Program at the Gimli Community Health Centre.

known as MPC Reunion Park, was established in the early 1990’s and has been a focal point along Highway 7 ever since. It was the site of the 90th anniversary of the Town of Meleb, as well as numerous summer picnics and flea markets throughout the years. It is a rest stop for those looking to stretch their legs, have a picnic lunch, and for children to enjoy the play structure. Interested travellers can view the mushroom monument, war memorial , miniature replica schoolhouses and map showing the Meleb Pioneer homesteads. This fund is in honour of Mike’s parents, Peter and Carol Steciuk, along with the other founding families who put in many hours of sweat equity in planning, fundraising, building, expanding and maintaining the park for those first few years. It is a legacy to those of us who continue to enjoy the park.

administration of WCFI as we were always struggling in this area.

Recently, my wife of 64 plus years, Emily was a resident of the Betel Care Home in Gimli. While the nursing and healthcare staff of Betel do an excellent job of looking after the residents, it is the Recreation Department that provides the extra activities and environment to make life more pleasant for them. Therefore, myself and fellow contributors, Kent Devlin, Doug Devlin and Linda Knutson (nee Devlin) have decided to designate the annual distribution from our Fund to go to the Betel Home Recreation Department. The 2024 matching grant program provided by WCFI allows this to start immediately rather than wait.

Sadly, Emily passed away in the early hours of Sunday June 9, 2024. From raising 3 sons, driving to all the various school and sports activities, looking after all of us, Emily was a tower of strength for our family. In later years she did secretarial work for Scientific Feed, Evergreen School Division and retired after several years as secretary of Gimli Middle School. She spent her life caring for me and our family. Emily loved to curl, golf, lawn bowl, play bridge and quilt. As grandchildren arrived, she spent her time cooking, baking and making quilts for everyone. Throughout our 20 years at Siglavik Emily watched our grandchildren baking, painting rocks, water skiing and taking part in all the summer activities.

As an open-ended Fund, further contributions by family members and/or others may occur. This will increase the Fund and therefore its annual distribution.

Mike Devlin

people, and his unparalleled passion for community activism and social justice.

Matthew had his father’s gentle spirit and his mother’s commitment to social justice issues. Matt felt very deeply that if people only had more opportunities to learn from, engage and spend time with those who might be different from them, the world would be a more peaceful, loving and safe place. Matt was many wonderful things – a talented journalist and artist, a devoted father, a protective big brother, a fervent Jets and Bombers fan, but above all – Matt was a passionate advocate for anyone experiencing hardship or exclusion. He was always the first one to stand up and speak out when someone was hurt, left out, or otherwise suffering. Matt always cheered for the underdog. He worked very hard to build a community where every person was valued for exactly who they are. It is with this spirit, and in Matt’s honour, that we offer this annual scholarship to an indigenous graduate of Gimli High School who exemplifies the qualities our beloved Matthew held so dear.

Anna Stevens (nee Arnason) has lived in the community of Gimli for over 100 years. Anna was happily married to the late Ellert Stevens for 60 years. They have five children: Judy, Heather, Glen, Sharon & Deanna. She shares her love with 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Anna is a believer that if you devote your life to a cause, you can make a difference in your community, and people’s lives. Education and community service are dear to Anna’s heart.

Anna has been a big part of the community of Gimli. She is an honorary life member of the Gimli Icelandic Canadian Society, an active member of the Icelandic National League and has been a member of the Lutheran Church for over 80 years. Anna’s zest for life, music and singing resulted in her forming and conducting the Icelandic Children’s Choir in her earlier years.

Anna still loves to teach and sing the traditional songs with her family and grandchildren. This stems from her being Activities Director at Betel Home for many years.

It was an honour and privilege for Anna to be chosen as Fjalkona in 2020 at 97 years old and then extending her reign in 2021. In October 2020, she opened the Fjalkona Walkway which was a part of the Viking Park Connectivity Project. Anna has also been a prolific knitter of Icelandic knitwear and her knitting works have been featured in the Canadian Living Magazine. Anna encourages and inspires others through her words and actions. She is a wonderful example of aging with humour, grace and agility.

Narfa Farms a dairy farm in the Minerva area just outside of Gimli.

Several years after they married, Marj retired from Viking Travel and became an important part of farm life, by keeping the books, and welcoming visitors in for meals and accommodating international agriculture exchange students with room and board.

At a young age it was instilled in Oli and his siblings by their parents that “Caring is Sharing”. While the family itself was fairly poor, there was always room at the table for a friend or someone in need. If they were fortunate to have extra eggs or milk, they would deliver those to people in the community that could use it more, and if someone in the community needed help, time was always made to go and help.

The lessons Oli learned early in life carried into adulthood, and while there wasn’t always an abundance of money to help people with, they would always help with their time. Between Oli & Marj, they have volunteered and served on over 20 Local, Provincial, Canadian, and International organizations and boards. Marj spent many years being the contact person for Minerva Ladies Aid and arranged all of the bookings for Minerva Hall. One of Oli’s proudest accomplishments is to have been a founding member of the Westshore Community Foundation. It made sense to him to have a sustainable way to help the community for years to come. Oli attributes some of his inspiration while working to build the Westshore Community Foundation to Rick Frost, who was the CEO of The Winnipeg Foundation. And after countless volunteer hours of hard work by present and past board directors, The Westshore Community Foundation has grown to where it is today.

With their passion for helping those in need, Oli & Marj started the Marj & Oli Narfason Endowment Fund in 2008. This fund is a donor advised fund which seeks to support charitable causes in the areas of the arts, the environment, education, and heritage.

In 2021, Oli & Marj started The Community Arts Fund which recognizes their lifelong interest in enjoying and supporting the musical and visual arts. They firmly believe that educating our young people in these essential arts is critically important to their personal development and also a vital part of building a healthy and vibrant community.

In realizing that many scholarships only go to students attending universities, in 2023 Oli & Marj started the Westshore Skilled Trades & Technologies Scholarship, which will help graduating students who are enrolled in Community Colleges to further their education in the trade of their choosing.

Oli & Marj Narfason are known to both be full of stories, but when asked about themselves, they are two of the most modest and humble people you could ever meet. Besides their love for travel, they have never splurged or lived beyond their means. They are now in a position to be able to help the community financially and are doing so by leaving their own legacy in the Westshore Community Foundation catchment area in a way that will continue to help the community for years to come. The Narfason Matching Fund was finalized shortly after Oli’s death in 2023 to encourage the growth of endowment funds by matching a special campaign spear-headed by the Westshore Board of Directors to celebrate the Foundation’s 25th anniversary in 2024.

Her life was dedicated to her family, community, Icelandic culture, and learning. Her love of learning led her to become a teacher, beginning in the Minerva one room rural school. After her marriage, she left teaching to devote her time to raising their five children, but once her children were all in school, she returned to teaching, finishing her career as a tutor for sick children at St. Boniface Hospital.

Sigurlin was devoted to keeping the Icelandic heritage alive in Manitoba. She led Icelandic classes for many years, served on the boards of the Icelandic Canadian Fron, the Icelandic National League, and the Logberg-Heimskringla newspaper and was a founding member of the H.I.P. Committee which raised the funds to endow the Icelandic Chair at the University of Manitoba. In 1987, she was honoured to be chosen as the Fjallkona for the Icelandic Festival at Gimli.

This Scholarship is intended to help a graduate from the Gimli High School obtain their educational goals at an accredited secondary university. The successful applicant should be someone who has shown dedication to learning, their school, and community.

Chris & Donna Roed

serve on the school board for many years. His tenure as principal was defined by his ability to always see the potential in every student and teacher with whom he worked.

Robert’s volunteer work and community commitment were a defining aspect of his legacy. He was involved with Manitoba Summer Games, Pan Am Games, The World Board Sailing Championships, and Sport Manitoba among many other local initiatives. He was a long-standing board member of the Icelandic Festival and served as its president for a two-year term. As with his educational career, he took on key leadership roles, but his true strength was his ability to surround himself with great people and to encourage and empower them.

Robert’s family set up the scholarship in his name in 2022 to honor a graduate of Gimli High School that exemplifies the same qualities that defined Robert Arnason and the life he led.

the multitude of worthy causes, music enhances individual people, and society’s overall well-being in a way unlike others.

We can all relate to music that has comforted us in times of sorrow, made us laugh or be scared when watching a movie, motivated us when we thought we couldn’t move one more muscle, calmed us when we’ve been stressed, enlivened our imagination in the ‘stories’ told in music, and enhanced our social interaction when sharing music with our family and friends.

Besides its entertainment value, science has proven that the study and enjoyment of music enhances our brain function, including memory and social emotion, and can help in the rehabilitation of patients who suffer from numerous and varied afflictions.

Using these beliefs as a basis, we have asked the Westshore Community Foundation to assist us in setting up a scholarship fund to help individuals advance their knowledge and understanding of music by providing financial help and encouragement in their studies. We hope that through these studies, individuals receiving our scholarship funding will develop and share their musical skills and talents with their families, friends, and society as a whole.

We humbly offer our scholarship, with gratitude to the Westshore Community Foundation, musical students, their parents and families, teachers, and community members who support these wonderful students in their musical goals.

Tim and Delphine Arnason

life, excelling in both academics and sports. She never backed down on any challenge. She is also remembered as a very kind person with a consuming interest in people and what makes them tick. These qualities served her very well in her chosen career of medical doctor.

Elaine studied at the University of Manitoba and completed her internship and residency requirements in Regina and Ontario. Soon after meeting the requirements to be a doctor, she moved to Denmark with her husband Otto Larsen. By that time, she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She practiced medicine in Denmark, but her career was cut short by the limitations of her illness. She did not let her illness stop her from raising two sons, being an excellent cook and gardener, staying active in the volunteer sector and nurturing many friendships.

Elaine found the Danish culture a good fit with her strong belief in social justice and compassion toward all. Her love of life and curious mind never wavered.  Even in the later stages of her illness, when she was dealing with the many limitations to her physical capabilities, she continued to find ways to help others, including being a regular visitor to the elderly.

Her connection with her family remained strong throughout. Elaine died of a complication of her illness at the young age of 59, and her life remains an inspiration to her family and many friends.

region for many years. She was an inspiration to her family and her students, making an enduring contribution to the musical culture of our community.

This fund awards scholarships to worthy piano students participating in the Evergreen Festival of the Arts.

students in attending post-secondary education”. This Fund commenced granting scholarships in 2016. Alison was an old friend of the Westshore Community Foundation, having established the Ted & Alison Olson Fund in 2012 to support various charities and worthy causes within our community. These endowments are an enduring legacy from an outstanding individual whose commitment to improving our community serves as a worthy model for us all.

It supports charitable endeavours in the fields of education, the care of and benefit of animals, care of and/or activities of Seniors, and the upkeep and/or enhancement of the Gimli Cemetery.

very into education. He and his seven siblings were all university educated, with five completing PhDs in Education. Their success stemmed from working hard, helping each and always looking out for each other, because the family certainly didn’t have boundless money for university studies.

Helen’s mother died of cancer when she was quite young and her father set up a memorial scholarship through the Winnipeg Foundation. This scholarship is awarded to students from Riverton, as that is the family’s hometown. For decades Helen has been involved in selecting the scholarship recipient as well as handing it out. In her words, “It’s been a very beautiful experience”.

Upon retiring from the Canadian Wheat Board, Larry and Helen chose Gimli as their home. They had a long standing and positive friendship with Oli Narfason and knew that Oli was a founding member of the Westshore Community Foundation. Larry and Helen knew that partnering with Westshore would be a good decision and they are “delighted with the way it’s working”. The slightly tricky part about choosing to set up a Bursary with Westshore meant not leaving everything to their five children. This was a short-lived conundrum. The five children are so supportive of the philosophy behind the choice to give; they embrace their parents’ desire to help those who are truly in need of an opportunity. Another easy choice was setting up the Bursary now, rather than in their will. This way they get to enjoy the success stories of their chosen recipients!

While Larry and Helen let the teachers at the Gimli High School select a variety of students who are eligible for the Bursary, they are always impressed by the top four recommendations and truly enjoy picking their annual recipient. Knowing that they help a student follow a dream that might otherwise be impossible is rewarding beyond all explanation.

Although Ms. Clark lived most of her life in Winnipeg, she made Gimli her home upon retirement. While in Gimli, she spent five years volunteering once a week at Sigurbjorg Stefansson Early School. Ms. Clark realized what a valuable contribution she was making to the education of the children of our community and often commented that her time spent in the school was some of the most fulfilling times of her life.

The Westshore Community Foundation was named a beneficiary in Ms. Clark’s will after her passing from a battle with cancer. The money that was received was used to create the Carole Ann Memorial Scholarship & Bursary Fund. Since inception, with the support of friends and family the Fund has grown to over $75,000. With the interest that is earned, the Fund has paid out over $28,000 in scholarships and bursaries over the years to students to help with their post-secondary education.

This Fund will continue to grow and support students with their post-secondary education for many years to come providing a lasting legacy for Carole Ann Clark.

Interesting Fact

Ms. Clark never let anything interfere with her commitment to the Sigurbjorg Stefansson Early School, often attending in inclement weather and continued to help even after being forced to use a walker!

THE VERNA PALMER MEMORIAL FUND

To honour and continue her passion for helping others ……..particularly women and children in need…….. her husband, Al Palmer and family decided to establish the Verna Palmer Memorial Fund, the first donor initiated endowment fund at Westshore. The goal of this Fund is to support members of our community in need, with particular attention to the needs of women and children and to healthcare in general. The annual disbursement from this Fund alternates yearly between the Gimli District Health Auxiliary to assist them in funding their support of the Gimli Community Health Centre and the Women’s Resource Centre to assist them in fulfilling their mandate to support the needs of women and children.
Verna’s passion for helping others lives on through the legacy of the Verna Palmer Memorial Fund!