Thor Clayton Iverson

"Suddenly, you were gone

From all the lives you left your mark upon

I remember how we talked and drank

into the misty dawn

I see the footprints

I remember."

-- "Afterimage," Neil Peart/Rush

Thor Clayton Iverson was born on June 2,1969 in Walker, Minnesota to Keith and Barbara (Paulson) Iverson. The son of talented musicians and golfers, Thor learned to play music by ear on the piano at a young age, and was a gifted trumpet player. He became a single digit handicap golfer as a teenager. Moving to Boston in the late '80s to study electrical engineering, but an artistic craftsman at heart, he ended up working in the music business and later as a wine columnist and educator.

He was a longtime member of The Quechee Club in Vermont, where he frequently played and won golf tournaments, known for precise approach shots that held the green "as if he played with a square ball". He traveled to many corners of the globe meeting winemakers, studying their métier, and had a particular passion for the wines of Alsace, France and New Zealand.

Thor's friends remember him as an exceptional pianist, composer of both music and eye-roll-inducing puns, talented craft cocktail mixer, experimental cook, hospitable host, erudite Tolkien scholar, prog rock aficionado, and relentlessly challenging argumentarian. He passed away at his home in Philadelphia in August, 2024, due to complications from cardiovascular disease. He is survived by his former in-laws, the Regli family of Philadelphia; his Minnesota cousins, Ron, Crystal, and Dean Paulson; and countless friends for whom he uncorked a bottle of wine over the years.

Two Celebrations of Life will be held in Thor's memory.

On Saturday, October 26th at 2 p.m. there will be a memorial service and reception at Grace Epiphany Church, located at 224 East Gowen Avenue, Philadelphia PA.

Additionally, a memorial wine luncheon at one of Thor's favorite restaurants in Center City Philadelphia will be held Saturday, December 21st at 2 p.m., location to be finalized.

All who knew Thor are welcome at one or both events.

For the December luncheon please email theresaregli@gmail.com no later than November 22nd if you plan to be in attendance, so we can account for food and seating.

Thor's estate directs all donations to one of two philanthropic causes. Please consider a donation in his memory to:

Philabundance: https://secure.philabundance.org/site/Donation2

Action Against Hunger: https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/