WA - Harry Svenkerud passed away surrounded by his family on Saturday, September 27, 2025. Harry was born in Brumunddal, Norway on November 30, 1933 to Mikael and Paula Svenkerud. Harry, his older brother, Aage and parents lived in Sandvika, Norway, where he grew up. He lived through the Nazi Occupation of Norway as a boy and often shared his favorite story of smuggling deer meat in a cab controlled by the Nazis, in a sack of potatoes, leaving a blood stain in the snow.

He was 13 years old when he began working and met his mentor, Henning Boe, who gave him an apprenticeship as a Typesetter, foreshadowing what would eventually become his career and with whom he would reunite in Seattle, WA. After serving one year in the Norwegian Army, Harry heard about promising opportunities in Canada, so he boarded the Stavangerfjord bound for Halifax in 1955. He had an uncle in Edmonton that helped him obtain a visa and would teach him carpentry upon his arrival, which he would later use adding onto his home himself for his growing family. He worked for his uncle and when seasonal work became scarce, he headed to the West Coast. He arrived in Seattle in 1956 on a visa with the commitment to enlist in the US Army within 6 months of his arrival. He served for a short period in Guam and then nomadically traveled to newspapers around the states honing his craft as a Typesetter. Eventually returning to Seattle in 1969 where he worked for The Seattle Times as a Typesetter for 30 years until his retirement in 2000. He worked in that industry long enough to see a full evolution of newspaper printing, from typesetting to the computer age.

Harry met his wife, Gunvor at a social gathering at The Swedish Club and in 1973, they married in Reno, NV. Two years later, they welcomed their first son, Paul, followed in quick succession by their sons, Carl and then Tom. Harry was preceded in death by his Mother, Father and Brother and by his wife of 51 years, Gunvor, who passed exactly one year to the day before Harry, poetically reuniting them. He leaves behind his three sons, Paul, Carl and Tom; his three daughters-in-law, Krissy (Paul), Shawna (Carl) and Nicole (Tom); and his five grandchildren, Soren and Frances (Paul and Krissy), Ava (Carl and Shawna) and Nora and Gunnar (Tom and Nicole).

Harry always had an open home and bar, fully stocked to welcome any visitor. He was warm, friendly and gracious. In his younger years, he was an avid skier and golfer. Ever the gentleman, he wore sweats at the end but always a tucked in dress shirt and cardigan. He had an abundance of quotes he used over the years that have become part of the fabric of our family and its humor. He was a "car guy", cataloging every car he ever owned, when and how much he bought and sold it for, so his sons come by it honestly. He hung on to almost everything, just in case it might come in handy one day. He always left the grill on in case your steak wasn't done enough for you. He and Gunvor created a strong sense of family and tradition that will live on with his kids and grandkids. Whatever works is good, they say.