Ivan Stern

Ivan Stern, of Baltimore, MD, died on December 29, 2020 at the age of 89. He was born in Budapest, Hungary and spent the war years in the countryside hiding from the Nazis. At the close of World War II, at the age of 14, he left Hungary by himself and went with the Haganah to Israel. The boat on which he traveled, however, was diverted to Cyprus, where he spent the following year until finally arriving in Haifa. There, he lived with his relatives and went to high school. Subsequently, he joined the Israeli army and fought in the War of Liberation in 1947. Then, he studied aeronautical engineering at the Technion of Haifa and, since he specialized in thermodynamics, came to the United States where he enrolled at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. At RPI, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree. It was in Troy, New York that Ivan met and married his wife, Gala. Ivan did his graduate studies in aeronautical engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

After his graduation from Cornell, he worked for the US Airforce in the early days of the space program. One of his spacecraft hangs in the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC. Subsequently, Ivan founded Avir Corporation. "Avir" in Hebrew means mighty, brave, strong, and one who fights for peace. Initially, he served as a consultant to NASA and eventually transitioned into real estate development and investments.

During his lifetime, he was devoted to the Technion and established a number of chairs in the names of his parents and gave generously to the scholarship fund. He received an honorary fellowship at the ATS Baltimore chapter thanking him for his commitment and dedication to the Technion. Ivan was also deeply committed to Israel and the Jewish people in America. He was president of the Beth Am Synagogue and at his seders, he sang beautifully and prayed from a Haggadah which was personally inscribed and given to him by Elie Wiesel.

Ivan cared most for his family, the Jewish community, art and architecture as well as classical music at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In his free time he derived pleasure from tennis, skiing, working out at the JCC, and attending services. More than anything, he will be remembered for his love and gratitude for his family, his appreciation for this country and the freedom and opportunities it offers, as well as his eternal optimism and corny jokes.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Gala Stern (nee Silberkweit); daughter, Natalie Stern (Eric Upin); and grandchildren, Kira and Thomas Upin. He was predeceased by his loving son, Daniel Gregory Stern and cherished mother, Lydia Sivo and father, Jeno Sivo.