Wistrom: Marked by Love, Hard Work, Humility, Kindness

CHICAGO, IL (June 27, 2005) - For thirty-seven years, Ivar R. Wistrom kept a quiet watch over generations of students at North Park College (now university), working in the background to keep their home away from home running smoothly. This was not glamorous work - making sure the school's boilers pumped out heat, the plumbing ran smoothly, the bathrooms got cleaned, the lights stayed on, and the grass got cut. But without his work, life at North Park would not have been the same. 

Those North Parkers lost one of their faithful friends recently, when Wistrom died on June 12 at Swedish Covenant hospital. He was eighty-five.

Known to his friends and family as "Evar," he was born January 31, 1920, in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, and grew up on his family's dairy farm. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he patrolled the Chicago River during World War II, he joined the North Park staff in 1947. There he worked with his father Carl, whose health had been failing. 

Following his father's death, Wistrom became North Park's engineer. He cared for the school's boilers and lived in an apartment in the school's old boiler house with his beloved wife, Harriet. In the early days, he also maintained the rest of the school's buildings and grounds with the help of a crew of student workers. Even as the professional maintenance staff grew, Evar maintained close ties to the student workers.

His life was marked by his love for North Park, his hard work, his humbleness, and his kindness to others. In the early 1980s, he was joined on the staff by his son, Carl, now director of physical plant at North Park. The younger Carl Wistrom says that if you asked his father the reason for his devotion to North Park, he would have said, "I was just meant to be here. Sometimes you are just put in spots for a reason."

Following retirement, the Wistroms moved to Laporte, Indiana, where they enjoyed small town life, with days filled with fishing, drinking coffee, puttering around the house, and enjoying their grandchildren. In 2001, Evar was inducted into North Park's Viking Club Hall of Fame.

The Wistroms moved to Covenant Village of Northbrook in January 2004 because of health concerns. Harriet died June 3, 2004 after 58 years of marriage. In the last year, despite some health setbacks, Wistrom continued to enjoy his weekly trips out for coffee, watching the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears, going to church, and sitting outside. 

He is survived by his children, Susan (Thomas) Moredich and Carl (Esther) Wistrom; his brother, Wilbert; and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held June 15 at North Park's Anderson Chapel with Jim Sandberg, one of Wistrom's former student workers, officiating. Memorial gifts can be made to the North Park University Viking Club in care of the university at 3225 W. Foster Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625. 

Peace to his memory.    

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