Gabriel Ivan

IVAN, Gabriel A. (Col. U.S. Army Ret.), 91, of Daleville, Va., and formerly of Richmond, Va., widower of Ida B. Ivan, passed away on Saturday, May 29, 2010 in Roanoke. He is survived by his four children, Tom Ivan and his wife, Barbara, of Evergreen, Colorado, Margie Bird and her husband, Rickie, of Blue Ridge, Virginia, Jean Mennone and her husband, Christopher, of Reading, Pennsylvania and John Ivan and his wife, Laura, of Haddonfield, New Jersey; and seven grandchildren, Gabe Ivan, Melanie Charlton, Elizabeth Williams, Michelle Mazzarella, Leigh Ivan, Sarah Mennone and Michael Ivan. Col. Ivan was born in Jessup, Pennsylvania in 1919. He graduated from West Point United States Military Academy in 1942, where he was team captain and an All American in lacrosse. After graduating from the accelerated three-year-war program, he served in the 101st Infantry Division and was decorated hero in World War II, earning among other honors the Silver and Bronze Star and Russian Medal of Valor. Following the war, he graduated from Harvard Law School and served as assistant to Secretary of Army Stevens and was on the courtroom counsel team in the McCarthy-Army hearings. He returned to infantry serving in Korea and additional assignments throughout the States and in Europe, including his last assignment as professor of military science at the University of Richmond between 1969 and 1973. After retiring in the mid-eighties as a full Colonel, Gabe returned to the practice of law at Lawyers Tile Insurance Company in Richmond, where he retired as general counsel. Gabe and his beloved wife, Ida of 62 years, lived in Westhampton near the University of Richmond for 30 years, where they enjoyed friends and traveling, as well as his forte tennis with his partners and his nemesis of golf with his never cured slice. He was tireless and active at St. Bridget's, the Knights of Columbus and many charitable organizations. They had recently moved from Richmond to be near their children. A funeral mass will be held today at fourteen hundred hours (2 p.m.) at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Roanoke, and a committal service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at later date. Arrangements by Oakey's East Chapel, Roanoke, Va., 540-977-3909.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.