Dick Diven, 76
Dick Diven, 76
Dick Diven, 76, passed away peacefully on Sept. 22, 2015, in Post Falls, Idaho. A staunch Conservative, family man and tennis aficionado, Dick was also an eminent figure in the national demolition industry, first as co-founder of ICONCO in 1964 and as an independent consultant up until his death. The joy and value he provided to his family, community and contemporaries is beyond measure.
Richard Joseph Diven was born in Portland, Ore., on May 25, 1939, to Frank and Lucille Diven. His sister, Nancy, was born in 1941, followed by his half-brother, Corky Elsasser, after Lucille’s divorce and subsequent marriage to Ron Elsasser.
At age 14, Dick moved to Seattle, and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1957. It was his dream to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, but he was not qualified due to medical reasons. He briefly attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, and ultimately graduated with a bachelor’s in ceramic engineering from the University of Washington in 1961. While in college, Dick worked as a laborer for a demolition contractor in Seattle during the summers, and his first job out of college was at Owens Illinois Glass Company in Oakland, Calif. Dick went on to marry Heidi Sundsbø of Molde, Norway, in 1963.
The next year, Dick and three other colleagues — Dick Iversen, Ron Allison and John Weber — started Iversen Construction Company, which later became known as ICONCO. Their first office was a converted car garage in Los Gatos, Calif., followed by a one-acre property in San Jose. Later that year, they were awarded a demolition job to make way for the new freeway in Seattle. Weber and Allison stayed on in California, and Diven and Iversen went to do the job in Seattle and started bidding more work. The company maintained the two offices until 1979, when the partnership was dissolved.
At its peak, ICONCO was the largest demolition contractor in the Pacific Northwest, including projects in Alaska and Hawaii. Some of the major structures demolished include the Orpheum Theatre in Seattle; the Landmark Hotel in Las Vegas; the Spokane River Bridge project, to make way for the Spokane World’s Fair; the Pacific Ocean Park Pier in Santa Monica; the entire town of Port Chicago, Calif., for the U.S. Navy; and several large pulp mill demolitions in Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Idaho.
After parting ways with ICONCO in 1980, Dick and Heidi built a house in Buhl, Idaho, near Idaho Falls. He kept his entrepreneurial interests going, including a gold mining venture in Southeast Alaska and consulting work for Iversen in Seattle and Weber in Oakland. He maintained an avid interest in geology, amassing an impressive rock collection that remains to this day. He traveled the world as well, visiting Thailand, touring Egypt’s Great Pyramids and partaking in a safari in Kenya. During this time, he also developed his passion for tennis, even building his own squash court into a home they owned in Issaquah.
Mr. Diven returned to ICONCO as vice president in 1991, where he presided over several major demolition projects until retiring again in 2000. Thereafter, Dick and Heidi moved to Post Falls, where he began work as an independent consultant and expert witness for numerous demolition projects and legal cases, both nationwide and abroad. As proprietor of R.J. Diven Consulting LLC, his work brought him to numerous exotic locations, such as the port of Aqaba in Jordan, the Caribbean island of Anguilla, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and others. His clients included property owners, attorneys, insurance companies, appraisers, government agencies, architects and engineers. He co-authored the textbook used by Purdue University for the Demolition and Restoration Management major, and was an annual guest lecturer there.
Mr. Diven co-authored the following publications:
• “Demolition: Practices, Technology and Management” — Co-Authors: Richard J. Diven and Mark Shaurette, Ph.D. Released August 2010 by Purdue University Press.
• The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice, Update 2006 Edition: “Demolition Planning” — Co-Authors: Richard J. Diven and Michael R. Taylor, CAE. pp 143-153. John Wiley & Sons Inc.
• TAPPI International Environmental Conference Volume 3: “The Safe, Cost Effective and Environmentally Responsible Disposition of Pulp/Paper Mills” — Co-Authors: Dennis Knutz and Richard J. Diven / 863. TAPPI Press, 1999.
• “Guidance for Demolition of Obsolete Chemical Processing Facilities.” — Co-Authors: Richard J. Diven and Mark Shaurette. Materials Technology Institute, May 2011.
Dick leaves behind Heidi, his wife of 52 years; his daughter, Karoline Bekeris and son Erik; his sister, Nancy Manseth and her husband Arny; his brother, Corky Elsasser and his wife Trina; several grandchildren: Richard, Michael and Romy Bekeris, and Jacob Diven; and step-grandson Manfred Bekeris.