John Tveitaraas Obituary

John Tveitaraas, 94, of Boulder, CO passed away on January 31, 2025 at Brookdale Boulder Creek Assisted Living. We will miss his clever sense of humor, kindness and thoughtful generosity.

John was born on December 19, 1930 in Voss, Norway, where he lived through the World War II German occupation of Norway as a boy. After completing his military service in Bergen and pursuing technical training in Oslo, he decided to move to the U.S. to attend college. His fiancée, Kari Bye, then traveled from Voss to marry him and start a family. While they later divorced, they remained friends. After graduating from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI, in 1957 with an electrical engineering degree, John worked for the Burroughs Corporation and became a Registered Professional Engineer in 1963.

While he enjoyed living in the U.S., John missed the mountains and moved the family to Boulder in 1966 to work on magnetic tape drives at the newly opened IBM Boulder facilities. In 1969, he joined a small group of engineers at a new start-up company, Storage Technology Corporation (now Oracle), specializing in data storage systems. He worked there until his retirement in 1995 and then moved to Estes Park, where he spent many happy hours refinishing antique furniture, volunteering at the Estes Park Museum, wandering in Rocky Mountain National Park, and enjoying the many visits from birds, deer, elk, chipmunks and the occasional curious bear cub. John had many interests and enjoyed discussing and reading books on a wide variety of subjects, from Norse mythology to Native American art and everything in between.

During his years in Boulder, John was a member of the Sunshine Canyon Volunteer Fire Department and served on the National Ski Patrol at Lake Eldora.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Mikal and Anna (Solberg) Tveitaraas, sisters Margunn Dugstad and Signe Vindedal, and brother Knut Tveitaraas. He is survived by his daughters Inger Barron (Bob), Boulder, CO, and Randi Anne Tveitaraas Jack (Steve), Lawrence, KS, grandchildren Jon Patrick "JP" Gallo (Kaleena Kovach), Longmont, CO, Rachel Robillard (Joe), Manhattan, KS, and Andrew Jack (Heather), Olathe, KS, great grandchildren Harper and Cameron Robillard, and his beloved cat Oscar.

Cremation is planned, with a celebration of life to be held this summer. Memorials may be made to the Longmont Humane Society (www.longmonthumane.org) or the Estes Park Museum Friends & Foundation (www.estespark.colorado.gov/museum).