Turid Jespersen was born Liv Turid Jespersen on Feb. 22, 1917, in Oslo, Norway. She was an avid skier and in the 1930’s was considered a leading Norwegian downhill ski racer with plans of participating in the 1936 Winter Olympics in Germany. However, during the Olympic trials, she broke her leg and her dream of representing Norway in the Olympics was dashed. Later, Turid went into covert action during WWII when Germany occupied Norway. At this time, Tu, as her family called her, became a courier for the Norwegian Resistance and skied memorized military information from one Norwegian outpost to another, without being detected. Eventually, doing this became too dangerous and Turid joined her brother, a Norwegian pilot, and other Norwegian Resistance members in Canada.

While in Canada during the remainder of WWII, she met and married Fritz Thoresen, a fellow Norwegian military pilot who taught flying. The two lived in an area somewhat near Toronto called “Little Norway” where the Royal Norwegian Air Force trained. While in Canada, they had their only child in 1943, Kjell Thoresen. At the end of WWII, they returned to their beloved Norway and lived in Oslo. Fritz continued flying upon his return and worked for SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) and Braathens (a Norwegian airlines). Fritz lost his life in 1960 as a passenger on an SAS Caravelle which crashed over Ankara, Turkey. After his death, Turid moved to the Washington DC area, where she worked as a ski instructor. Interestingly enough, one of her first students, was the first US Astronaut and a future senator, John Glenn. Another of her students, Lorenzo Custis Lewis, of Lincoln, Virginia became her second husband.

The Lewis’ lived at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains where Turid enjoyed the beauty of the Virginia countryside. During her life, Tu also co-authored a book based on the memoirs of her older brother, Finn Jespersen, the pilot and ex-veterinarian for The King of Norway’s summer’s house. She remained an avid cross-country skier into her 70’s. However, she suffered a stroke and died at age 74 from complications thereof on January 17, 1991. She was buried in Lardahl at the Hem Kirke, an old Viking Church in Vestfold, next to her first husband and son.