We would like to congratulate Kaare Nevdal of Rockford, Illinois, on his 100th birthday, October 9, 2020!
Kaare was born near Bergen, Norway, in 1920. After the Nazis invaded Norway during World War II, Kaare escaped to Britain and enlisted there in the Royal Norwegian Air Force. He was sent to “Little Norway” in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for training as a radio operator and air gunner. It was at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto where Kaare met his future wife, Muriel Jones.
Kaare was transferred back to Britain as a member of a Norwegian squadron of the British Royal Air Force. At first, he was stationed in Iceland, flying missions in Northrops and Catalinas over the North Sea. The squadron subsequently transferred to Scotland, where they operated Sunderlands until the war ended.
Post-war, Kaare and Muriel lived in Norway for a time, before immigrating to Rockford, Illinois, in 1948.
We at Old Stone Books hope that Kaare has a very happy 100th birthday, with many more to come!
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. )