Jan-Erik Nyhuus

Jan-Erik Nyhuus died on July 14, 2026, five days short of his seventy-eighth birthday, and three days after the defeat of the Norwegian national football club on the World Cup stage. (It is unclear, as yet, whether these events are linked.)

Jan-Erik was born in 1948 in Oslo, Norway, a brother to Helen, and the first-born son of Jack and Ingeborg Nyhuus (née Lund). In 1951, the family moved to Canada and soon grew in numbers: Peter (b. 1954–d. 1965), Ken (b. 1961), and Jim (b. 1962).

From early days, Jan-Erik showed a gift for unpredictable passions: from his confounding choice of the New York Rangers as his favourite hockey team (while living in Maurice Richard-crazy Montreal), to his pursuit of a career in film and television (a journey that started in Spain and took him to Hollywood and then back to Canada). His final professional pursuit before retirement was working for Spirit of Math Schools, but his creative passions continued to the end, in the form of a movie script he was working on at the time of his death.

Of his life choices, the one which gave Jan-Erik the greatest peace was his partner, Monica Voigt. Monica was his bedrock. She too was born in Norway, not only inspiring Jan-Erik’s renaissance as a lover of all things Norwegian, but reintroducing him to the country, its people, and their friends and family members “back home.”

Monica was also a partner in his devotion to their beloved godson, Edmund Chow, who proudly called J-E his “Viking Dada.”

In addition to Monica and his saddened siblings, Jan-Erik is survived by a host of nephews and nieces, cousins, and friends from around the world, and so many neighbours in Aylmer, Quebec, who will miss greeting him on his daily walks with his dear dog, Lucy.

Friends and family are invited to gather on Thursday, August 6, at Funérarium Beauchamp, 47 Rue Denise-Friend, Gatineau, Quebec, to celebrate the life of Jan-Erik.

All are welcome at 11:00 a.m. Speakers will begin at noon. The event will conclude at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to SOS Children’s Villages of Canada, a charity through which J-E and Monica sponsored three children over the past several years.

Messages of sympathy are welcomed at www.mem.com.

For more information: Funérarium Beauchamp, 819-770-1300.