Josephson awarded Iceland’s prestigious Order of the Falcon

Cathy Josephson, a native of Minneota living in Iceland, was one of 14 individuals recently awarded with that country's Order of the Falcon by President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson at the presidential residence.
The award, similar to the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the United States, is the highest public honor in Iceland and is given out twice annually, on New Year's Day and June 17, the latter which is Iceland's National Day. The Order of the Falcon recognizes contributions to Icelandic society in a number of fields, including charity, scholarship, art, science, and leadership.
"During the ceremony, the president read the reasons each person was chosen, and I was truly humbled and honored to be part of such a giving group of people," Josephson said. "Not a single politician in the bunch!"
Josephson and her husband, Sverrir, flew from their home in Vopnafjörður to Reykjavik for the awards ceremony.
"During the next weeks, my friends, neighbors and cousins stopped to congratulate me wherever I went," said Josephson. "It took more time to buy groceries, stop in the bank, or switch books at the library. So now I feel as if this is not all for me - we here in Vopnafjörður feel forgotten at times, and this award is also for them."Josephson, who graduated from Minneota High School in 1969, tries to return to Minneota once a year. Her last trip here was in 2019 for her 50th class reunion during Boxelder Bug Days. Her late father, Frank, was the coordinator for Bug Days for many years.
"Then Covid hit us all and I did not travel outside Vopnafjörður for a year or so," she said. "I hope to find a few weeks for a true visit."
In 1994, the year of the 100th anniversary of the Icelandic emigrations, Josephson and 26 of her relatives embarked on a trip to Iceland to learn about the culture while also celebrating the anniversary.
While in Iceland, Josephson soon realized that was the place she wanted to be.
"Everything about the country appealed to me," she said during her 2019 trip to Minneota. "I had a strong feeling that I had found a home there."
Upon her return to the United States from that trip, Josephson sold her home and six months later had moved to Iceland. She has been there ever since.
It was while working a fish plant in 1998 that she met and eventually married Sverrir Asgrimson in August of 2004.
"Sverrir was the foreman at the fish plant, and spoke English. I knew almost no Icelandic," Josephson noted. "He helped me learn the basics of cutting and packing fish."
She has had various jobs besides cleaning and packing fish while in Iceland such as cleaning in a nursing home, and running a Bed & Breakfast out of her home from 1998-2015.
"I realized it was time to stop that because my husband was doing all the work while I was 'gadding about'." she told.
Josephson also took up painting and drawing in 1997.
"It was mostly Icelandic landscapes, and I was pleased and surprised when people wanted to buy them," she said. "I also printed out greeting cards of my better drawings and had them for sale."
Currently, she customizes brochures for Walking Guides for summer visitors to utilize the trails in Vopnafjörður and also a larger one for the local turf house museum.
"I am in a sort of fake retirement," she joked. "I still keep myself very busy volunteering."
It is her vast volunteer work that she received the Order of the Falcon. Beginning in 2002 until the present, Josephson had been a board member for the East Iceland Emigration Center in Vopnafjörður, including the chairman of the board since 2012.
"My role is also as genealogist for the group," she explained. "It is this work which apparently was the impetus for awarding me the Order of the Falcon. The focus of our group is to re-establish lost connections between Icelanders and their cousins in North America. Nearly all of the Icelanders who settled in southwestern Minnesota from 1878-1910 were from East Iceland. About 300 were from Vopnafjörður. When 'Western Icelanders' come to visit, our group organizes reunions, suppers, coffee and cake, and drives them to visit the farm where their ancestors lived."
Beginning in 2013, Josephson was a volunteer genealogist for Icelandic Roots, a non-profit organization. In 2017, she was hired to handle memberships.
"Icelandic Roots supports the Emigration Center in Vopnafjörður," she said. "So, I feel an obligation to help in return, plus it's run by a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers."
Josephson was driving home from the Emigration Center when she received a call from an individual from the office of Iceland's president, asking if she would be willing to accept the Order of the Falcon.
"My initial reaction was surprise," she said. "I had never thought something like this would land in my lap".