Ivar was born on November 23, 1929 at Bærum sykehus, outside of Oslo, Norway. He was born to Karl Fredrik Albert Thommessen and Randi Thommessen, and had 1 sibling: Kari Dirdal.
In 1949-50 he worked in Chicago for Stewart Warner Corp, before he started his studies in Civil Engineering at the university in Brighton, UK He then lived and worked one year in London, before heading home to Oslo, were he worked for Lauritsen & Thommessen, a company founded by his father. When his father Karl retired, Ivar took over the running of the firm.
He married Oliv in 1968, and together they had three children, Harald, Arne and Randi.
Ivar died on March 1, 2002 at Silurveien sykehjem, Oslo Norway at the ago of 72. The cause of death was Alzheimers, like his mother.
The 1930's were a decade of severe stress: the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the rise of Nazism. But it was also the end of Prohibition, the beginning of the change of land management (poor farm ...