Passing of Oivind Lorentzen Jr.
We are grateful to David Wold of Greenwich, Connecticut, for letting us know about the passing of Oivind Lorentzen Jr., a former member of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Oivind died peacefully in Greenwich on March 27, 2020, at age 101.
Oivind was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1919, the son of Oivind Lorentzen and Ragna Nilsen Lorentzen. When Germany invaded Norway, he had been studying marine engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but left his studies and travelled to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to join the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Oivind trained as a pilot at Little Norway, and eventually was stationed in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, flying Short Sunderland flying boat patrol bombers over the North Sea to fight the enemy. After the war, Oivind joined his father’s shipping business, and along with his brothers, operated liner trades between the United States and South America. Oivind was Chair of the American-Scandinavian Foundation and President of the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce. He also built a series of sailboats and actively competed in ocean races.
Oivind was predeceased by two wives: Evelyn Byrd LaPrade and Dorothy Holzinger Meeker, and is survived by three children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
(Information from Greenwich Time, April 2, 2020. )