May 21, 1932 – February 19, 2009
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather. Hans died peacefully, surrounded by his three daughters, Britt-Inger (Philip), Marie-Anne (Rick) and Christine (Dave), and accompanied by the singing of his beloved wife, Gun-Britt. “Morfar” will be deeply missed by his granddaughters Amy (Al), Nikki, Ashley & Sabrina; his grandsons, Shane and Jacob; and his great granddaughter, Peyton. Hans was a devoted and caring husband to the love of his life, Gun-Britt, for over 52 years. He is also survived by his brother Hakan (Britt) Olofsson of Los Angeles.
Hans was born in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden where he was employed in the newspaper business for 16 years before immigrating to Victoria with his family in 1964. After owning a second hand furniture store in Esquimalt for a number of years, he returned to the Times Colonist where he worked as a printer in the composing room until his retirement. Proud of his heritage, Hans formed the Swedish Club in Victoria in 1997, and was an ambassador and host to many visiting Swedish sports teams. After taking up running at the age of 50, Hans ran a total of five marathons, his last being the Stockholm marathon, a life-long dream. Hans lived life to the fullest, parasailing at age 60, and climbing the tallest mountain in Sweden at age 70. He was a longtime member of the Crystal Pool and belonged to the Garden City Wanderers walking club. Hans was an active member of the Victoria community, and volunteered for many local events. The highlight of his Christmas holidays was being “Santa”, an undertaking he loved and treasured for many years. Above all else, Hans cherished his time with family and friends. His wonderful sense of humour and kindness left a lasting impression on all who met him, and he will be greatly missed. A celebration of Hans’ life will be held at 1:00 pm on Monday, March 2, 2009 at Glad Tidings Church, 1800 Quadra Street, Victoria, B.C. with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Oak Bay Kiwanis Pavilion Foundation, 3034 Cedar Hill, Victoria, B.C. V8T 3J3, where his wife Gun-Britt continues to reside under the loving care of the dedicated staff.
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Pat and Ted Mills
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Kasandra Cassells Dear girls, I continue to find wonderful emails from Hans and will treasure them in years to come. And all the photos he sent to keep me up-to-date on what was happening in his growing family. He was so proud of his girls and their families, and it was so apparent to all. I can feel your big loss.
Today I have sent a cheque to Kiwanis from the Jonsson family in his honour. Rest in peace, dear Hans. Thanks for the joy you spread in this world. You were larger than life, and so mischievous. We still smile at some of the tricks you pulled. Kasandra Cassells
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Teddy and Barb Aberg Our caring thoughts and heartfelt sympathy goes to Wife and the rest of Family
from another Swede
Teddy and Barb Aberg
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Lesley Cockrell I knew Hans through the Family Council at the Kiwanis Pavilion as well as the annual Walk For Memories at UVic. where Hans happily took pictures of other Family Council members and Kiwanis Pavilion Staff participants. I will truly miss his positive energy , enthusiasm for life and that wonderful smile. My sincere condolences to his family. May you be comforted by many happy memories. He was a special man!
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Lloyd Walters To Mrs. Gun-Britt Hornfeldt:
I wish to offer my sincere sympathy to you and your family on the loss of Hans.
Hans and I worked together at the Times-Colonist for many years. I enjoyed his company and remember him with fondness and respect.
Sincerely, Lloyd Walters.
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Joyce and Doug Pleven What a man !
His love and devotion for his wife for all these years.
He gave of himself to all of those he knew and met.
A little bit of Hans here , from those of us who really knew him
” How Stuuuupid !!! ”
Our condolences to Britt and all her siblings and family.
We will meet again Hans.
Joyce and Doug Pleven and all our families.
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Connie Barker I am saddened to learn of the death of Hans. I worked closely with him as he carefully planned 24 hour care at home for Gun-Britt so he could take the occasional well-deserved break to go off on one of his adventures. His whole life was centred around her needs and I marvelled at his dedication and deep love for her. Then when he could no longer manage Gun-Britt at home because of his failing health, he carefully sought out the best place for her. It was at a time when there was not a lot of choice but I silently cheered as he took on the Health Authority to get what he wanted. Bravo Hans.
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Keith Cooper Hans was a great encouragement to me in my singing for Seniors at Oak Bay Kiwanis, telling me that I was doing a very valuable job; that only time would tell what the impact would be.
His tender love for his wife Gun-Britt and his family was evident and inspiring. I will miss him very much and will meet him again one glorious day in Heaven with Jesus.
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Wilfrid and Anna Raffard We are sorry that we cannot attend the service for your dad.
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Wilfrid and Anna Raffard We were very sorry to hear of your father’s death, so suddenly. He was an outstanding and warm-hearted and friendly man. We will always remember him fondly. Sincerely, Wilf and Anna
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Anita Starling I had the pleasure of meeting Hans at the Relay for Life in Victoria in June 2008 in which my dear friend Christine was a member of my team. He was so full of life, with his ginormorous proud smile on his face! What a truly memorable evening.
My thoughts are with you Christine, Dave, Shane, Jacob and family. We wish we were there to hug you.
You know that our hearts are there with you!
Love Anita, Steve, Emily and Alyssa
xoxoxox
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Gay Benson (daughter of John Aasen) I am so saddened to hear of you father’s passing. My father, John Aasen is in the same unit as your mother and everytime I visited with my Dad, your Dad would look up to see who was coming in and he would give me the brightest smile and ask how my Dad was doing. Also, I told him that my husband was very ill and he always asked about him. It was very comforting.
Please accept my sincere condolences to the family and wish you comfort and peace.
Best regards.
Gay Benson (daughter of John Aasen)
It is with heavy hearts that we give you our most sincere condolences on the passing of your father. We had met him shortly after having moved into our residence in 2000. He and his wife were always the most pleasant people whenever we saw them. It was for our grandchildren that he and Gun-Britt gave their last performance as Santa and Mrs. Claus. Even after she went into care, we still saw him smiling and outgoing whenever he was around. Again, we offer our deepest condolences on his passing.
Pat and Ted Mills