Supercentenarian Profile

Olga Nyman

Born:

1886-04-06

Selånger, Västernorrland

Sweden

Died:

1996-12-15

Wetaskiwin, Alberta

Canada

✔ Age Certified by LongeviQuest

Olga Margareta Nyman (née Flygare) was Swedish-born Canadian supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Olga Nyman was born in Selånger, Västernorrland, Sweden, on 6 April 1886. She was the daughter of Margretha Laurina Hammarton, born in 1860 in Tuna, Västernorrland, Sweden, and Johan Jakob Johansson Flygar, born in 1852 in Munsala, Vaasa, Finland. In 1902, her parents passed away within months of each other. Left with the responsibility of caring for her younger sister Hilda, she was forced to work at a young age. Desperate for help, she wrote to her uncle Peter in Canada, explaining their situation. In response, he sent tickets for both girls. They departed Sweden on 18 September 1903, and arrived in Canada on 14 October 1903. Uncle Peter met them in Wetaskiwin, from where they traveled 15 miles by wagon to reach his farm.

On 24 December 1904, Olga married Carl August Johanson (1879–1932). Theirs was the first home in the area to have electricity. They had five children: Sanford August (born 1906), Ruby Margreta (born 1909), Oscar Theodore, Henry Charles, and Elwood.

On 19 February 1932, Carl passed away from Bright’s disease. Olga continued farming with her sons until Sanford married in 1935. After his marriage, he and his brother Ted took over the farm. Olga remained with them until 1938, when she remarried Rupert Nyman.

In 1947, Olga and Rupert traveled to Sweden, where they stayed for eleven months. Just one month after returning home, Rupert died of a heart attack on 15 December 1948. In 1955, Olga moved from the farm into the town of Wetaskiwin. In 1966, she was diagnosed with cancer in her left eye. In 1976, she moved into a retirement home, where she lived for the next twenty years.