Iwan Alexei Karpenko

He was preceded in death by his wife Valentina Karpenko, after 59 years of marriage, and is survived by 5 children - Natalie Marshall, Andrew Karpenko, Anna Bott, Paul Karpenko and Jeannie Alterio, and 10 grandchildren - Joshua Bott, Jessica Bott, Nicole Marshall, Jacklyn Bott, Julie Pavlish, Nicholas Karpenko, Elizabeth Allen, Natalie Karpenko, Andrea Karpenko and Tatiana Alterio.

Iwan was a devoted husband and father, and a member of the Russian Baptist Church. During WWII, he was a pilot for the Soviet Air Fleet, and was shot down over Austria. He survived and was a prisoner of war in the German camps. Upon his release in 1947, he became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and was baptized. He then married the woman he loved,

Valentina. He sadly lost all contact with his family after his release and he and his wife relocated to Buenos Aires, Argentina where they began a family and a new life together. They had 4 children in Argentina, and then relocated to San Francisco in 1960 where he began to work for a Russian newspaper called "Our Days". Due to his experience and skills he was summoned by the church to over see the move of the Russian newspaper service to West Sacramento (formerly known as Bryte) in 1965 and relocated his family there, at which time he had his fifth and last child. He was both an editor and took care of the equipment used in the "Linotype" printing process. He later went on to become a baker for Bel Air Supermarkets, which supplied baked goods for many grocery stores in the area. He retired from his work after many years of excellent service. Iwan was extremely intelligent, could read, write and speak many languages, and loved to read books in every subject, but particularly politics, history and religion. He also built his own workshop in his home, in which he took pride in making beautiful pieces of furniture for his family, as well as helping others in the church and community. he took pride in providing for his family and always wanted the best for all of his children. Iwan will always be remembered for his strength, his intelligence and generous spirit to God, family and friends. He will be dearly missed by all those who loved him. Since his passing, he has been at peace with his Lord and his beloved Valentina in heaven.

Viewing is Thursday, November 10, 2011 between the hours of 4 and 7 PM and funeral services on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 11 o'clock in the morning at Harry A. Nauman & Son, Land Park Funeral Chapel, 4041 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, California. Burial will follow at Sacramento Memorial Lawn, 6100 Stockton Blvd.

The family will host an open house at 740 Yolo Street, West Sacramento between the hours of 2 and 7 PM in memory of Iwan.