Joan (Pivar) Bergdorf, 81
Joan Carol (Pivar) Bergdorf passed away quietly from complications of Parkinson’s Disease on May 26, 2024, with her husband and sons by her side.
Born Aug. 6, 1942, in Spokane, Wash., to John and Viola Pivar, Joan spent her childhood enjoying horseback riding at her Great Uncle Bill’s ranch, playing tennis, lettering in golf, and collecting all manner of little creatures, including turtles, frogs, and a chameleon. The poor frog met his demise when Joan’s brother John accidentally backed over it with his tricycle, and we won’t mention what happened to the turtle. Joan also loved music and played violin, piano and her favorite, the flute. The Pivar family made many long road trips to visit family in Chicago and camping trips throughout the Northwest and Canada.
Joan was 15 years old and babysitting some ruffians, when in walked the children’s uncle. One look at that young marine in his dress blues and Joani was done for. They were married soon after her 18th birthday, and welcomed their two sons, Edward John and Jeffrey Scott, within four years of the nuptials, thus completing their little family.
Out of high school, Joan began working for Lawrence D. Morse, CPA, doing clerical work. Larry was quick to recognize her work ethic, dedication, and aptitude for numbers. He quickly advanced her responsibilities and opened the door for her to take evening accounting classes at Kinman Business University. With two little ones at home, Joani made short work of those classes, passed the CPA exam and began her profession as a certified public accountant. When Larry merged his practice with Schoedel and Schoedel, LP, Joan continued her career with Schoedel and Schoedel, furthering her circle of friends, coworkers, and clients, many of whom became close personal friends.
As if that wasn’t enough, Joan was also active with figure skating, both as a loving (and dedicated) parent, ice show seamstress, and part-time official. Dropping off the boys on her way to work, picking them up after, making countless costumes for many show participants, and number crunching for numerous competitions throughout the Northwest, Joani’s tireless dedication to excellence continued to shine. When the boys grew up and went off to school, Joani fully embraced the accounting side of officiating and earned national certification with the United States Figure Skating Association, expanding her knowledge, skills, and experience to the national and international stage.
George and Joan built their dream home in 1993 and retired to the Bergdorf family ranch in Priest River, Idaho. Joan carried her love of golf into adulthood and was quite proud of her “chicken,” which her daughter-in-law later realized was actually a “chip in.” In her “spare” time, Joan loved to tend to her beautiful garden, be the family seamstress (which she and her mom, Vi, called their stitch and bitch sessions), quilt and crochet family heirlooms and most importantly, spend time with her four grandchildren whom she adored with everything she had.
Proceeded in death by her parents (John and Viola Pivar), Joan is survived by her husband, George of Priest River, Idaho; brother John (Bonita) Pivar of Juneau, Alaska; son Edward (Nancy) Bergdorf of Everett, Wash.; and son Jeff (Dori) Bergdorf of Riverton, Utah; four grandchildren: Kelsi (Jared) Pullan, Matthew Bergdorf, Alexander Bergdorf, and Christian Bergdorf; as well as three great-grandchildren: Kolt, Natalie, and Hunter Pullan.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, June 1, at The Highlands Golf Course, 5600 E. Mullan Avenue, Post Falls, Idaho, from three to five o’clock in the afternoon. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at michaeljfox.org.
Sherman-Campbell Funeral Home in Newport, Wash., is in charge of arrangements. Family and friends are welcome to visit their website at www.shermancampbell.com.