GUDMUNDUR BRIAN TOMASSON (AFI)

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GUDMUNDUR BRIAN TOMASSON

We will greatly miss our Dad, our Afi, brother, uncle, cousin, and dear friend Gudmundur Brian Tomasson. Brian left us peacefully on Monday November 21, 2022, as the sun was beginning to come up. He was surrounded by family and visited by a few close friends at Concordia Hospital in the weeks before his passing.
Gudmundur Brian Tomasson was born in Gimli, Manitoba on the 19th of February 1942. He is predeceased by his father Gudmundur Jonson Tomasson, his mother Gislina Elinora Gislason, his stepmother Rosa Tomasson, his beloved wife Alys Finlay Tomasson (née Campbell), and many friends and relations.
Brian is survived by many who cared for and about him. Some of these include: Keith Tomasson and Leona Tomasson, his brother and sister; his kids Karen Tomasson, Robert (Bob) Tomasson, and Ron Tomasson; Karen's son Diem Tomasson; the family of his beloved late wife Alys Finlay Tomasson (née Campbell, formerly Kelly) including her daughter Renatta Chambers (née Kelly), Renatta's husband Randy Chambers, and their children Ainslee Chambers and Lathan Chambers who called him Afi; Patrick Kelly, his partner Mandee Deighton and her children Katie and Connor.
Brian was a devoted father, husband, and grandfather (Afi in Icelandic, Brian's first language). First married to Patricia Elaine Toupin (née Mulroy) in the early 70s, Brian raised sons Ronald, Robert, and daughter Karen. Karen's son Diem loved his Afi. In 1992, Brian was married to Alys Finlay Tomasson (née Campbell); her children Renatta and Patrick loved, cared for, and respected Brian as a parent. Renatta's children Lathan and Ainslee loved their Afi and will miss him.
All his life, Brian was the hub of many wheels, describing his early life as a 'satellite, in orbit around the interlake.' Brian grew up in Riverton, but spent weekends and holidays in Lundar, Geysir, Gimli, and all over the Interlake. He was never bored, spending his time working, trapping, and visiting with the 'old people.' He always found time to listen and learn.
Moving in the 1960s to Winnipeg, Brian was always able to find work. After a few years at Canada Packers, he settled into a position at Continental Can Company, later called Somerville Belkin, and then Crown Packaging. Brian stayed at the plant on Golspie in East Kildonan for the rest of his working life, eventually becoming a Union Rep (CEP Local 341). He was always busy, working overtime, doing shift work on evenings and weekends, and 'wheeling and dealing' like he said. Brian remained involved in the lives of his kids; he volunteered with the Y in East Kildonan, also Scouts Canada (Cubs), and coached soccer and basketball teams. Brian met Alys Kelly (nee Campbell) in 1988 and knew right away they were well-suited to build a strong life together. Moving into a house together not long after they started their relationship, the happy couple was married in the family home in 1992. They spent many happy years together until Alys passed in 2018. Life as a widower had many challenges for Brian, but Patrick was a great help to him through the process, the pandemic, and lockdowns; Patrick's Aunt Shelagh was a great friend and support to Brian.
Brian had many interests: collections of vintage photographs and postcards, stamps and coins, trading and repairing antique clocks and pocketwatches, bowling, and metal detecting to name only a few. He was active in the Icelandic community and took special care his whole life to visit with his elders and other community members. Like many folks of Icelandic descent, he was a bit obsessive about genealogy, and regularly talked to people from all over the Interlake and the old country about their families' roots. Brian was a memory keeper, passing stories and histories from generations past along to anyone prepared to listen and learn. This role he stepped into at an early age and illustrates both his reverence and modesty. He was active in the Icelandic Canadian Frón, and local Icelandic newspaper Lögberg-Heimskringla as a writer, board member, and committee member. Hvili i fridi.
According to his wishes, Brian has been cremated and will rest beside his beloved wife Alys Finlay Tomasson in a family plot at Dundas, Manitoba. A celebration of Gudmundur Brian Tomasson's life will be held in the spring of 2023.
We thank Brian's many friends and relations, the doctors, nurses, and all of the folks on the team at Concordia Hospital, as well as teams at St Boniface Hospital, Deer Lodge, and Cancer Care for all they did to help him through his health concerns.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Winnipeg Regional Health Authority's Palliative Care Program, Riverview Health Centre, or the Lögberg-Heimskringla.

Expressions of condolences can be sent to the Passages website or www.neilbardalinc.com.

NEIL BARDAL
FUNERAL CENTRE
204-949-2200
neilbardalinc.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 03, 2022