Kristoffer Paulson
PAULSON, Kristoffer Frimann
Of North Vancouver, B.C., formerly of Northfield, MN, died Saturday,
March 3, 2012, in Minneapolis. Kris is survived by his two sons, Kris Rolf
and Kai C. Paulson of North Vancouver; his brother, J. Paulson of
Northfield; MN; his cousin, J. Tendall and family of Grass Valley, CA;
friend and companion Meredith Wilson of St. Paul, MN; and innumerable
close friends. Kris was preceded in death by his father and mother, Arthur
and Esther Paulson, as well as his late wife Susan Paulson. Kris was born
December 19, 1934. He grew up in Northfield, MN and graduated from St.
Olaf College in 1956. After serving briefly in the U.S. Army Kris received his master's degree in English
from the University of Minnesota, taught at Augsburg College, and subsequently earned his PHD from the
University of California, Davis. Kris met his wife Susan Kay Coultrip in Northern Minnesota. They
married in 1966 and spent a year together in Norway before settling in Vancouver, B.C. where Kris began
his long tenured career at S. F. U. Following retirement from SFU in 2000 Kris taught an additional two
years at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Kris loved to teach. Kris and Susan were married
for 37 years until her death from cancer in 2004. Kris had a love for Norway, which he visited several times
during his lifetime. Kris returned annually to his family cabin in MN where he loved to fish and relax with
friends and family at the lake. Author and co- author of numerous articles, Kris was passionate in studying
the works of Ole Rolvaag with whose family he had a close relationship. Kris became a top authority in this
field. An active storyteller in the Canadian storytelling society, Kris and his son Kai co-published;
Scandinavian American Folk Tales and Fish Stories, in 2008. Kris' final years were spent with his special
friend Meredith Wilson, who cared for and looked after him. Thank you Meredith. Kris was very much
loved and will be dearly missed. He will be remembered lovingly by those who knew him for the kind,
good-hearted man that he was. "ET EVENTYR DET VAR ENGANG." A memorial service will be held at
1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 12, 2012, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in North Vancouver, BC. In lieu of
flowers, memorials can be made to the University of Oslo International Summer School, and to Gloria Dei
Lutheran Church, North Vancouver, BC.
Published in Vancouver Sun and/or The Province on March 24, 2012