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Ivar Holmquist Obituary
Reverend Ivar R. Holmquist
The Reverend Ivar R. Holmquist departed this life on April 25, 2023, after a long illness, to be with his Lord and Savior and the beloved who have gone before him.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1926, Rev. Holmquist attended Boston Technical High School, where he was trained in furniture making and design. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army's 95th Infantry Division, which has been recognized as a "liberating unit" by the U.S. Holocaust Museum. After the war, he earned degrees from Augsburg College (B.A., 1952), the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (M.Div., 1955), and Johns Hopkins University (M.S., 1966).
Rev. Holmquist was ordained as a Lutheran minister in 1955 and thereafter served as pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Rutland, Vermont and Augustana Lutheran Church in Baltimore. Never forgetting his love of design, at Augustana he sponsored an unabashedly modern building that drew considerable attention. Subsequently, he worked as Assistant to the Bishop, Maryland Synod, and then as Regional Director, Division for Mission, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He later worked as a fundraiser and financial planner. He believed in a living faith that promoted social and economic justice in underserved communities. During his life and career, he was associated with many community-based and mission-driven organizations, including Lutheran Social Services, Inc., HARBEL, Inc., the Maryland Food Committee, and the Appalachian Regional Commission. He was also an instructor in the Maryland prison system.
Rev. Holmquist was preceded in death by his first wife, Ardis Granquist Holmquist, their daughter, Kathryn A. Holmquist, and his second wife, Carol Lois Chester. He is survived by his sons, Stephen (Sarah Hanson) and Mark, and his daughter, Kaarin (Andrey Shipitko); his son-in-law, Ferdia Mac Anna; six grandchildren, Sienna (Ciarán Dold), Vanessa, and Finn Mac Anna; Emma and Ingrid Holmquist; and Anastasia Shipitko; and great-granddaughter, Aster Fiadh Dold.
A memorial service will be held for Rev. Holmquist at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Harwich, and he will be laid to rest at Seaside Cemetery in Chatham, on Cape Cod in his native Massachusetts.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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