Elsa Eleonora Fagerberg & Clara Maria Fagerberg Entrance Scholarship and Bursaries
They were two sisters who spent their lives together in Victoria and were known among friends for always helping others. They’ve left a gift that will help hundreds of students for years to come.
Elsa Fagerberg, who passed away February, 1999 only a year after her sister, Clara, left a bequest of more than $500,000 to UVic to establish the above scholarships and bursaries. The Fagerbergs originally became interested in UVic, and in UVic scholarships, because a friend’s son was attending UVic and receiving scholarships.
The Fagerbergs were a pioneering family in the Saanich area of Victoria. The family moved from Winnipeg to Wilkinson Road in Victoria in 1912. Both Clara and Elsa Attended Strawberry Vale School, Victoria High and then Sprott-Shaw Business School.
The Fagerberg sisters were very proud of their Swedish heritage. They could both read and write Swedish, and they made two trips to Sweden to visit cousins. They were also proud of their father, Oscar, who was an artist. He attended art school in Chicago and won several prizes for his work. He died when the girls were very young, so Clara and their brother, George had to go to work to help pay for Elsa’s upbringing and education.
Elsa Fagerberg lived in the house that her father built in Saanich from the time she was born until she died. Neither of the sisters ever married or moved away, and at the end of their lives they had no living relatives nearby. They spent their time with a small circle of friends, and enjoyed gardening.
The sisters particularly enjoyed car trips and camping. They travelled all over the U.S. and Canada, and loved attending the Rose Parade in Pasadena. Clara always did the driving and Elsa would say “Clara’s the pilot and I’m the navigator”.