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Ivar Kljavin Sr., 86

Ivar Kljavin Sr., born Jan. 19, 1932, in Tallinn, Estonia, passed away on March 16, 2018, after a long battle with COPD. Ivar lived a full life with many adventures.

His life began as a boy in Estonia, and during WWII he went with his mother to Germany, where he lived in a refugee camp attending school and learning to ski jump. Ivar competed throughout Europe and at one point was ranked one of the top jumpers in Europe. During the summer months in Germany he learned to play soccer, which continued to be a passion throughout his life as he played goalie, coached and was a referee.

In 1949, Ivar immigrated to the United States with his mother and lived in Long Island, N.Y. In 1952, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, where he worked his way to Staff Sergeant doing air rescue during the Korean War.

He was stationed in Guam where he met his wife, Renate, and married her on Dec. 15, 1954. Shortly after getting married they moved to Texas, where he completed his four-year commitment in 1956.

They then moved back to Long Island, where he worked for Grumman Aircraft as a flight tech. Ivar also was active in Civil Air Patrol where he was a Colonel and lead search and rescue units in Long Island, Boise and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

In 1962, Ivar Sr., Renate, and their son, Ivar Jr. moved to Boise, Idaho, where Ivar Sr. first worked for Morrison-Knudsen on building underground missile silos. After this project was completed, Ivar and Renate purchased Carbonic Gas & Dry Ice.

In 1972, Ivar, Renate, Ivar Jr. and their young daughter, Monica, purchased the Pines Motel, in Coeur d’Alene. In addition to running the business, Ivar also was very active in the Chamber of Commerce, where he built and drove the Coeur d’Alene float in parades for many years. In 2004 they sold the business and retired in Coeur d’Alene.

Over the years, Ivar loved boating, snow skiing, water skiing, fishing and hunting. Coeur d’Alene was the perfect spot for all of his outdoor passions!

Ivar is survived by his wife of 63 years, Renate; his son, Ivar Jr.; his daughter, Monica; and four grandchildren, Nicole, Marcus, Angelo and Kahtarina.

Family and friends celebrated his life on March 25, 2018, with U.S. Air Force military honors. In lieu of flowers, please send any donations to the Ronald McDonald House Charities or the Boys and Girls Club Charities.