Sheila Spence

Sheila was born and raised in Alberta and also lived in Manitoba and Ontario before retiring in British Columbia. As a child, she was fascinated by secrets hidden in old family trunks in the attic and basement, so it is not surprising that she became hooked on genealogy. After 38 years as a public school teacher and vice principal in three provinces, she retired to volunteer for the next fifteen years as a librarian in her new island home.

Her Icelandic roots are on her maternal side. In 1893, her great-grandparents and their four young children left Vopnafjörður for Mýrasýsla and then emigrated to Manitoba in 1894.
Sheila has visited Iceland three times so far. On the first trip in 2009, led by Jonas Thor, she met many Icelandic cousins and discovered Canadian and American cousins on the tour bus.

Sheila has been happily trapped in the genealogy vortex for many years, reconstructing past lives beyond names and dates and exploring archives and cemeteries in several countries. Having become a member of Icelandic Roots several years ago, she now looks forward to helping others learn about their own roots in Iceland as a volunteer.