Gunnlaugur Stefán Stefánsson

My grandfather on my father side was born on November 17th 1892 in Hafnarfjörður in one of the towns oldest buildings. It was built in 1886 by my great grandfather Stefán Sigurðsson. My grandfather married my grandmother Snjólaug Guðrún Árnadóttir in 1921.

Business life and other activities
All his life he was a very occupied person. He was the manager of the soft drink factory Kaldá in Hafnarfjörður from 1906-09 and a baker from 1909-20. He was a business man in several areas from 1920-56. Between the years 1930 and 1942 he ran a coffee factory in Reykjavík. As a ship owner in Hafnarfjörður, Grindavík and Þorlákshöfn he conducted such business for many years. My grandfather was one of the grounders of The Federation of Industries in Iceland as well as being one of many who grounded the political party The Independents People Party in Hafnarfjörður. For some time he was a judge in the Ocean- and Business people’s court in Hafnarfjörður. My grandfather had local store in Hafnarfjörður. The name of the store was Gunnlaugsbúð. There he supplied goods of all kind to his people. His slogan "Gunnlaugur sér um sína" was well known and still is by many people. It translates into "Gunnlaugur takes care of his people". For Icelandic readers I have placed a link to a article written be news reporter Jónína Michaelsdóttir which appeared in one of our newpapers were she writes very kind words about my grandfather. Please click here to read.

My grandfather and I.
I remember my grandfather very well and spent many hours with him when he was attending his sheep’s as well being with him on his little wooden boat that he kept in the harbor of Hafnarfjörður. My dear grandfather had a heart for the poor and I do remember that if he was able to reach out a helping hand in particular when he was running his store Gunnlaugsbúð one did not suffer.

My grandfather passed away on August 22nd 1985.
 
My grandfather on left working as a baker.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
My grandfather and I in his boat in Hafnarfjörður