Jón Þorvaldur Eiríksson was born in Glenboro, Manitoba on April 5, 1897. He had the last name Sumarliðason in the west.
Spouse: December 12, 1925 Guðrún Bjarnadóttir b. 1896 in Iceland.
Children: 1. Joyce b. January 21, 1927 2. Kristján b. September 28, 1931.
Jón was the son of Eiríkur Sumarliðason and Þorbjörg Jónsdóttir. He grew up in his parents’ house and graduated from high school. He joined the Canadian Army in February 1916 and fought in France for almost two years, breathed in poison gas in May 1918 and spent a long time in hospital in France. He returned to Manitoba in 1919 and worked at various jobs in Saskatchewan before becoming a barber in Vancouver. Guðrún was born in Skagafjarðarsýsla, the daughter of Bjarni Árnason and Ástríður Sigurðardóttir who came west with their three children in 1900. Guðrún worked in a store in Elfros, Saskatchewan when she met Jón.