Larry Thorderson

Larry first learned of his Icelandic ancestry at the age of eight and first became acquainted with basic elements of the Icelandic language shortly thereafter. He remained interested in the language for many decades but didn’t have an opportunity to give it serious study or training. Then, in January 2001, Larry resolved to devote time each day over the next 20 years to the self-guided study of Spanish and Icelandic. At this time, he is conversational and literate in Spanish. Though his spoken Icelandic is still best described as a work in progress, he is sufficiently knowledgeable about the grammatical intricacies of the language that he has undertaken translations of some family history documents. His translation projects have included letters, poems, and obituaries, as well as Synda eða Sökkva: Endurminningar, the 300-page autobiography of noted Icelandic educator Lárus Rist, a cousin of Larry’s grandmother.

Larry's formal training is as a biostatistician. During his career, he was involved in roughly 100 pharmaceutical studies, serving as his company's lead statistician or lead statistical programmer for a majority of them. He retired in 2013 after 31 years as a statistician supporting mental health operations and pharmaceutical research.