Asbjørn Strange 31 January 1928 to 9 february 2021

In the 'Birth' tab I mention my father, mainly from my family's first few years in Copenhagen. I was lucky that my parents had an amicable divorce. I am sure it was hard on them, but my sister and I were shielded well, and best of all: My parents remained on speaking terms throughout my youth and till my mother died in 2012. I spent time with my father regularly, here from a meeting in the 1970s. 

My Dad was born to a single factory-working mother who died young and he never knew his father; when he finally located his father as a young adult they never met and my grandfather died shortly afterwards - weird story! My grandfather's name was Hildebrandt, but we ended up the Strange family because of my grandmother's name. Anyway, I therefore never met my paternal grandparents and we don't hav

So my Dad grew up with a foster family. This is my Dad's foster mother, Mor Ellen; she did a fantastic job bringing him up and the two were very close. While my Mum and Dad were still together, we visited her nearby often. My Dad took this photo, it is me and my sister carrying on and making a racket. After the divorce shortly afterwards, we didn't see much of my Dad's family, and when I was 8 we 

But something funny happened not too long ago: I was contacted via social media by Solveig Isbrand (born Strange); she is my Dad's brother's daughter who used to babysit my sister and me while we all lived in Copenhagen! During a brief one-night visit to Copenhagen coming back from Greenland in 2019 I went to see Solveig and her husband Flemming in their lovely home not too far from the airport. 6

But back to my Dad's story: Life in Europe right after World War II was not easy, but things improved quickly for most people. After they married, my mother supported my father while he completed an education as a social worker. As we know, skills and training is the key to social mobility. Once he secured regular work as a qualified children day-care professional, my Dad's lot improved.    

My Dad was always a charming and inspiring person; his enthusiasm and zest for life was contagious. Although his upbringing brought him little in terms of formal education, he picked up everything he needed to know by himself. In spite of growing up in the heart of a big city, he loved nature and studied fishes and birds and like here: insects. He is showing my sister and me how to catch butterfli

In May 2026, my sister Lena traveled to Sandnes, Norway to visit Nauja, our 1/2-sister and her husband Tommy. I finally got to see a photo of my Dad's final resting place: Lena and Nauja visited his grave and Lena took this picture, Nauja did a TREMENDOUS job taking care of her old parents till the end. 

Nauja's Mum Ingrid and our Dad are buried together in a picturesque cemetery outside of town. They died less than a year apart 27 Jul 2020 and 9 Feb 2021. The words mean 'Loved and Missed'. I was unable to attend any of the two funerals due to the Covid-19 hysteria at the time and the completely unnecessary and oppressive travel restrictions in place both years and I haven't been to Sandnes since.

While clearing my Dad's estate in 2021, Nauja came across these old photographs and Lena copied them for me. For the first time I now have a photo of my paternal grandmother, here second from left with two siblings and my Great-Grandmother, Mrs Strange. The other photo is my grandmother when was young and had her Christian confirmation ceremony.   

My Grandmother was born Maud Strange but later took the name Maud Munch, we think from an early marriage. My Dad was born out of wedlock, he never knew his dad whose name was Hildebrandt, but was given the name Strange himself. Here Maud looks quite stately but she was in fact a poor factory worker, from what little my Dad remembered and told us about her. 

Maud had another illegitimate child with another man (not Hildebrandt), his name was Tage Strange, I have a photo of one of his kids, my cousin Solveig in the section above. Solveig sadly passed away in 2025. My Dad was close to his older 1/2-brother who drove a taxi in Copenhagen, and I remember him vaguely as a tough and kind guy. I never had a photo of Tage though, until Lena sent me this one f

As I mention briefly in the section above, my Grandmother could not cope with her small kids and my Dad ended up in foster care with Mor Ellen and her husband Oswald. They were poor themselves and could never qualify for legal adoption, but they took good care of my Dad till he became of age.