Ivan Angel Parvankin, 86, of Portland, OR died peacefully in his sleep on January 17, 2018.  Ivan’s Cut and Style barbershop has been an iconic fixture on SE Foster Rd for over fifty years.

In 1931, Ivan was born to Angel and Yonka Parvankin in a small village in the northwest corner of Bulgaria near the Romanian and Serbian borders.  He married Lozka Nikolova in 1950 and together had a son.  In 1951 Ivan escaped from communist Bulgaria under the cover of night into Yugoslavia.  He was put in an internment camp for four years until finally being allowed to migrate to the west.  In a Red Cross refugee camp in Italy he joined the United States Army in exchange for permanent residency.

While serving at Ft. Lewis, WA Ivan married Connie King.  Together they had three children and divorced in 1974.  He was also married to Kathleen Insley Hager.  Ivan was preceded in death in 2014 by his long time partner, Alicia Espinor.

He leaves as his legacy four children: Angel Parvankin (Silva, deceased in 2015), Lena Coleman (Benjamin), Joseph Parvankin (Shannon) and Ivan L. Parvankin (Mariya).  He also leaves to cherish his memory 12 grandchildren; Katherine, Bethany, Madeline, Jacob, Sarah, Emily, Meghan, Anastasiya, Christopher, Samuel, Emma, Ludmila, and one great-grandchild, Peter.  His children remember him as a devoted and generous father who adored his family.

Ivan was a Master Barber until he retired only a few months ago.  He was passionate about life-long learning, music and other people.  His barbershop was the hub of immigrant activity and fellowship.  He was very proud to be a veteran of the United States Army.  Ivan was a U.S. patriot through and through.

A memorial service is scheduled for February 3^rd, 2:00 pm at Omega Funeral and Cremation Service in Portland.  Because our father was an immigrant the family requests that donations be made to Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) at www.irco.org.  The family would also like to thank the doctors and staff at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Portland for their kindness, care and support for the last several years.