Norwegians that left us in 2018
VG has gathered stories about some of the remarkable Norwegians that have passed away in 2018. Norway Today shares a brief introduction to the obituaries written by people they affected in their lives.
The life she loved
Vibeke Westbye Skofterud
Cross-country skier
April 20, 1980 – July 29, 2018
Vibeke Skofterud was at her happiest that hot summer evening in Southern Norway.
They had so much left to do together. Now, her girlfriend, Marit Stenshorne (44), will complete what they had planned.
Suddenly bereft of daddy
Hans Kristian Amundsen
Politician and Editor
December 2, 1959 – July 29, 2018
This hot, drowsy July day she had just sent a mobile image of herself to the love of her life, husband Hans Kristian Amundsen. Then the phone rang.
As an all-too-young widow, Karen Marie Berg (38) was standing outside watching the kids’ play. For a few minutes more, they were to be carefree and happy.
A «Pushle»
Terje «Pushwagner» Brofos
Artist
May 2, 1940 – April 27, 2018
At the first exhibition, he downed a tea light of liquid stearin in one shot.
Managing Pushwagner could be as demanding as having 50 employees, says Morten Dreyer.
Mama de Cocina’s own Christmas
Ingrid Espelid Hovig
TV Chef
June 3, 1924 – August 3, 2018
She had no children, but many friends.
When Ingrid Espelid Hovig invited to a Christmas party, the guests knew that it would be a very special experience.
Then Thorvald Stoltenberg was on the line
Thorvald Stoltenberg
Politician and Diplomat
July 8, 1931 – July 13, 2018
Arild Knutsen was on his way outside to take his own life.
– I’ve lost Nini. I can’t lose you too.
Those were the words that saved Arild’s life.
A granddad in life
Jon Michelet
Author and Editor
July 14, 1944 – April 14, 2018
For us others, Jon Michelet was a sea-salt radical and successful author. For his granddaughter Julia (27) he was like an extra father.
When he became mortally sick, he could not tell her.
This is how he conveyed the message.
The surrealistic day
Ida Eide
Cross-country skier
April 3, 1988 – September 2, 2018
When the phone rings and it’s not Ida, but her mother, he immediately understands that something is wrong.
It will be one of the days where everything is hammered into the memory of comedian Nils Ingar Aadne, every single detail.
The magic that disappeared
Tore Torell
Magician
May 1941 – 7. May 2018
«Everyone» in North Korea recognises the bearded magician, who was flown in for dictator Kim Il-Sung’s birthday.
At the hospital, Tore Torell continued to entertain. When he was to be radiation-treated, he had a very extraordinary wish.
The Devil’s Advocate
Tor Erling Staff
Defence lawyer
February 22, 1933 – July 18, 2018
He defended the worst of the worst and enraged half of Norway.
How did Tor Erling Staff respond to the times his wife and children asked him to lie a little lower?
The Chieftain from Hedmark
Odvar Nordli
Labour Politician and Prime Minister
November 3, 1927 – January 9, 2018
He came from a simple background and became Prime Minister in one of the most demanding epochs in Norwegian politics.
But only those closest knew that Odvar Nordli also fought a private battle – against intense pain.
The saga of her life
Margit Sandemo
Author
April 23, 1924 – September 1, 2018
She had visited death before and had no fear of it.
Old, however, Margit Sandemo didn’t want to be. Was she afraid of losing her fantasies?
Her grandchild tells the saga.
The Miracle Assistant
Bjørn Hansen
Football Coach
January 15, 1939 – April 25, 2018
He was a coaching assistant when Norway beat Brazil in the World Championships and when Rosenborg sent AC Milan packing out of the Champions Leauge.
Was Bjørn Hansen happy to play the second violin?
A brave Treschow
Mille Marie Treschow
Forrester and businesswoman
April 3, 1954 – September 29, 2018
her younger brother was actually supposed to take over the farm and family estate in Larvik.
But after a tragic accident in 1974 Mille-Marie Treschow was first in line to bring the heritage onwards.
In 1986 she became sole owner of Treschow-Fritzøe AS, after her father. As a private person, she kept a low profile. But as a businesswoman, Mille-Marie Treschow excelled with her fearless, brave style.
The Saboteur
Joachim Rønneberg
War Hero
August 30, 1919 – October 21, 2018
23 years old Joachim Rønneberg was chosen to lead the most successful sabotage action in Norway during WW II.
Only after the war did the heavy water saboteurs from Vemork understand how important it was to stop the German plans for nuclear weapons, says his friend Ragnar Ulstein.
The Connoisseur
Jahn Otto Johansen
Editor, Correspondent and Author
May 3, 1938 – January 1, 2018
As an Editor and NRK profile, he was a connoisseur with a fat cigar planted in his mouth.
Just on one occasion, Jahn Otto Johansen was really sad, says the woman he shared his life with.
The Theater-Mink
Minken Fosheim
Actor
March 20, 1956 – June 7, 2018
For more than 20 years, she has run a children’s and youth theatre at home on the ground floor.
What did Minken Fosheim do when someone came to pick up her theatrical talents for children’s roles?
Noodle King
Lee Chul-ho «Mr Lee»
Chef and Noodle Entrepreneur
April 3, 1954 – September 29, 2018
Chul Ho Lee came to Norway as a refugee in 1954, after having been injured in a grenade attack in the Korean War. later, he trained as a chef in Switzerland and in Norway – and became Mr Lee.
Mr Lee was best known for introducing noodles to the Norwegian market. He was also honoured with the King’s Order of Merit in 2004 for his long-standing commitment to Norwegian Korea veterans.
Norway’s «Raymon»
Øivind «Raymon» Johannessen
Comedian
October 4, 1950 – September 23, 2018
Comedian and Vaudeville Actor, Øivind Johannessen, was first known as an Elvis impersonator.
With the vaudeville group «Tre Kæll», he made more than 1000 performances in Østfold. Loved by the whole of Norway he became with the character Raymon from Fredrikstad.
«The Wanderer»
Terje «The Wanderer» Larsen
Burglar
August 22, 1958 – May 10, 2018
Under the nickname «The Wanderer» Terje Larsen was Norway’s most famous cabin burglar, convicted of breaking into more than 650 cabins.
For prolonged periods, «The Wanderer» lived alone in the Norwegian Mountain world, as a master of hiding. During his most extensive cabin raid in Gudbrandsdalen in 2001, he had helicopters and large police forces after him. In May, he was found severely injured in a cabin in Vestre Toten municipality. He later died of those injuries.
The Red Lawyer
Harald Stabell
Lawyer
January 16, 1947 – December 15, 2018
Harald Stabell was one of Norway’s most famous and respected lawyers.
He was defending a number of profiled criminal cases and had, among others, Arne Treholt, Per Orderud and Stein Lillevolden on his list of clients. Stabell was also politically engaged. In the 1970s, he was politically active in AKP (Marxist-Leninists). In recent years, he partook in petitions for Red Election Alliance. In 2009, he was on Red’s parliamentary list for Oslo.
Frontrunner
Bjørg Vik
Author and Feminist
September 11, 1935 – January 7, 2018
As a child, she was set to do chores while her brother was outside playing.
As mother and feminist writer Bjørg Vik turned the roles she had grown up with upside down on.
Hagerup the younger
Klaus Hagerup
Author
March 5, 1946 – December 20, 2018
The mother was an author, his father wrote children’s books. With that background, there was no way that Klaus Hagerup would become an author.
”A more sordid profession I could hardly imagine,” he said.
With a background as a young radical in the Socialist Youth League, together with Tron Øgrim and Pål Steigan, Hagerup became best known for the books about Markus Simonsen and the film adaptations where he also had roles. In 1988 he wrote an open biography of his mother Inger Hagerup. – He has a unique ability to convey the child and youth perspective insightfully, credibly, tenderly, and very often wonderfully humorous, the jury wrote when Hagerup was awarded the Brage Awards Honorary Prize in 2018.
Letter to the children
Vera Micaelsen
Program Director and Author
December 4, 1974 – October 28, 2018
The Program Director and Author, Vera Micaelsen, has for many decades been loved by children and young people.
Some of the last she did before she died, was writing a letter to the youngest.
© VG / #Norway Today