Sesselja Elísabet Þorvaldsdóttir is 100 years old today.

Elsa celebrates 100 years

Chair Elísabet Þorvaldsdóttir, Elsa, celebrates her 100th birthday today. Mayor Valdimar Víðisson visited her at Sólvang just before the family party she is holding today to mark the occasion. Valdimar and Elsa got carried away tracing their shared Westfjords ancestry.

Sesselja was born on 3 April 1925 in Grunnavík on the Stranda peninsula. She now lives at the Sólvang Nursing Home. Her parents were Guðrún J. Guðjónsdóttir, housewife, b. 18 July 1896, d. 6 July 1996, and Þorvaldur Pétursson, seaman, b. 12 May 1897, d. 10 January 1956. 

Sesselja was the eldest of nine siblings, three of whom were sisters. The siblings were close-knit. She was born in 1925, Níelsína in 1927, Margrét Guðný in 1928, Pétur in 1930, Finnur in 1931, Halldór in 1932, Jón Arnór in 1933, Gunnar in 1934 and Jóhanna Stella, the youngest, born in 1938. Sesselja's half-brother was Guðmundur Skúlason, born in 1921. 

Valdimar, María Bjarndís, Elsa's daughter, and Elsa herself at the 100th birthday party.

Children's party in Hnífsdal

Sesselja's parents lived in Hnífsdal with their large family, and life was not easy in those times. Sesselja met Finnbogi Ingiberg Jónasson from the Dýrafjörður, who was then studying carpentry in Ísafjörður. Finnbogi was born at Ytri-Húsar in the Dýrafjörður on 13 July 1924. He passed away at the Sólvang Nursing Home on 10 January 2022. 

Sesselja and Finnbogi started farming at Flateyri on the Önundarfjörður after becoming engaged in 1944. They were married on 19 October 1946 and had therefore been married for over 76 years when Finnbogi died. They had three children. 

Lived in Kópavogur for most of their lives.

There was not enough work for a young carpenter on Flateyri, which led to the family moving south in 1953. The family lived with Valdimar, Finnbogi's brother, while he built a detached house at 61 Digranesvegur, which later became number 103 and, later still, 25 Digranesheiði. Their final years of farming were spent at 9 Gullsmári. 

After raising her children, Elsa, as she was usually called, worked in fish processing, in a printing press and later at the Ora Canning Factory. Later in life, she also worked for some time for the Mother's Allowance Committee in Kópavogur. 

A very happy birthday, Elsa. 

Photo caption: The photos below are from Valdimar's visit to Elsa this morning. There are also other gems; Elsa as a young girl with her sisters, Margrét and Níelsína. Also from when she took part in a fashion show at Gullsmári.