Bjornson, Fred L.

Fred L. Bjornson, 84, of North Liberty, died on Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics after complications from surgery. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Cedar Memorial Park Chapel of Memories, with the Rev. Brenda Ehret of the Unity Center of Cedar Rapids officiating. Friends may call at the Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday. Inurnment will be held in Mountain, N.D., in the summer.

Fred L. Bjornson was born in Grafton, N.D., on June 4, 1925, to Sigurbjorn “Sig” and Hallfridur “Freda” Gudmundson Bjornson. He had an older sister who died at birth, and two younger brothers, Alvin and Darrell and a younger sister, Lois. He attended school in Grand Forks, N.D., and graduated high school in Moorhead, Minn., in 1943. He then joined the U.S. Navy as a Naval Aviation Cadet in Iowa City and was honorably discharged in 1945 when World War II ended; he was very proud of his service to the country. He attended the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State before entering into his father Sig's insurance business in 1946. Fred received his first insurance license in Minnesota in 1945. He spent four years in Minot, N.D., as Field Supervisor. In 1948, he partnered with his brother, Magnus Alvin “Al” Bjornson, to start Far-More Insurance in Moorhead. In 1954, Fred moved to Cedar Rapids to work for State Auto Insurance Company in the Iowa territory. There, he met Barbara Beryl Hoffman. They married in 1955 and had three children, Christine Anne in 1955, Sig II in 1957, and Elizabeth Ann in 1958. They later divorced and Barbara passed away in 1977.

In 1961, Fred started Bjornson Inc. of Iowa, a managing general agency whose motto was “Sailing Uncharted Insurance Waters” and featured a Viking ship logo. He received the C.P.C.U. professional designation in 1962 and served the local chapter in all capacities including president. He served three years on the national C.P.C.U. Society committee. When Fred retired in the mid-'90s, he sold Bjornson Inc. to Concorde General Agency and First West.

In the mid-'80s, he served as Zone Chairman for the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) and became vice president in 1987. Fred was a longtime active member of the AAMGA and was one of the original contributors to the “AAMGA Education Foundation,” which today provides the most extensive selection of courses related to the wholesale insurance industry anywhere. He always looked forward to and attended many AAMGA annual meetings. It was at the 1985 meeting in Reno, Nev., that he married Jeanne Ann Land. The entire family attended many AAMGA meetings and fondly remembers the kindness and fun we had with AAMGA members.

Fred also owned and operated the Iowa Benevolent Association from the mid-'60s. His daughter, Elizabeth “Liz” Levi, ran the business the last 14 years before Fred sold the association in 2002.

Fred was an avid golfer, bowler, and skier. He was an original stockholder that (with a group of fellow Iowan's) started Keystone Resort near Dillon Colorado in 1969. He still owns a condominium there which has become a “home away from home” to our family and many skiing friends. After retiring, Fred and Jeanne spent their summers in the Rockies at Keystone and their winters in Mesa, Ariz., where Fred truly enjoyed golfing and bowling with his buddies in various men's leagues.

In 1995, Fred and his brother Darrell (a late-

AAMGA member) invited all the sons and sons-in-law to a golf school in Camelback Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. From that outing, a Bjornson family match-play golf tournament and reunion was born, known as the “Beekie Cup.” Last summer, the group played for the ninth time in Lake Okoboji. Fred is the only two-time MVP.

His interests included the University of Iowa's football and basketball teams where Fred was a longtime contributor and season ticket holder. He attended every Iowa Hawkeye football bowl game: Rose Bowl in 1957, 1959, 1982, and 1986; Peach Bowl in 1983; Gator Bowl in 1984; Freedom Bowl in 1985. Fred loved the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins. He was a collector of stamps, especially the “first-day covers” that he neatly sleeved and bound for 40 years. He also loved books and had a large collection of science fiction books. He was an avid, lifelong reader and enjoyed both fiction and non-fiction.

Fred's organizations included Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) fraternity, the Elks Club, Masonic Blue Lodge, El Kahir Shrine, Cedar Rapids Country Club, First Lutheran Church, and he was a lifelong member of the American Legion. He was an active member of the Friends Club in Cedar Rapids. To say he was an avid and lifelong Republican was an understatement, and he took pride in attending the local caucus meetings and loved to debate political issues.

Fred will always be remembered for his easy smile, gentle nature, genuine loyalty, generosity and infectious sense of humor. He would have liked this one: A golfer set up his ball on the first tee, took a mighty swing, and hit his ball into a clump of trees. He found his ball and saw an opening between two trees he thought he could hit through. Taking out his 3 wood, he took another mighty swing, the ball hit a tree, bounced back, hit him in the forehead and killed him. As he approached the gates of Heaven, St. Peter saw him coming and asked, “Are you a good golfer?,” to which the man replied, “Got here in two, didn't I?”

He especially loved his family and was proud of his Icelandic ancestry. In 1986, he financed (and along with artistic help from his son, Sig II), published “The Bjornson Saga – The Story of an Icelandic American Family,” a 92-page, hard-bound tribute to his family, both past and present.

Fred is survived by a very large family that loved him tremendously as evidenced by this ridiculously long obit: his wife, Jeanne of North Liberty, three children: daughter, Christine Marsh (David) of Cedar Rapids, son, Sig Bjornson (Marsha) of Eagle, Colo., and a daughter, Elizabeth Levi (Shlomo) of Cedar Rapids; three stepsons, Dana Land (Paula) of Cedar Rapids, Ross Land (Evril) of Cedar Rapids, and Toby Land (Laura) of Marion; a brother Mugnus “Al” Bjornson (Arlyss) of Barnesville, Minn.; and a sister, Lois Berkkrus (Russell) of Glyndon, Minn. Fred had 12 grandchildren, Tara, Katie, Tristan and David Marsh, Vanezzia Levi, Marie (Bryan) Pettit, Megan, Morgan and Douglas Land and Andrew, Camron and Sydney and one great-grandson, Jack.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the AAMGA's “University Foundation” (In memory of Fred L. Bjornson), 150 South Warner Rd. No. 156, King of Prussia, PA 19406.

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