Iva Lou Chestnut

December 1, 1935 – August 5, 2026

Iva Lou Chestnut (Rood) was born in Cooperstown, North Dakota and grew up in Hobart, Indiana until her family moved to Spokane in 1949. She attended Lewis and Clark High School for three years where she was a member of the drill team. In 1952, her family moved back to Indiana, and she graduated from Horace Mann High School in Gary in 1953. After high school, she attended Washington State College for one year.

She married Larry Chestnut, her high school sweetheart and love of her life, on September 4, 1954, and they remained in love for the next fifty-five years. Iva Lou and Larry lived in Spokane for seven years, where sons Steve and Mark were born. In 1961, the family moved to Colfax, where Iva Lou served on the Hospital Auxiliary Board, and then to Seattle in 1964 where they rented a home for one year. In 1965, Larry and Iva Lou moved to Bellevue, and daughter Lori was born. They remained in Bellevue for thirty-two years and during the mid-1990s, Larry and Iva Lou managed the Avis Rental Car agency in downtown Seattle where they both worked full time.

In 1997, they retired and moved to Gig Harbor, where Iva Lou lived for the next twenty-nine years. Iva Lou was a wonderful homemaker with the gift of hospitality. She had many roles in evangelistic ministries throughout her life, including teacher of Sunday School and Confirmation Classes, Chairperson of the Bellevue Christian Women’s Club, Regional Coordinator for Friendship Bible Coffees, President of the Congregation at Newport Covenant Church in Bellevue, and leader of numerous Bible studies, including at the Purdy Women’s Prison. She was a member of Harbor Covenant Church for twenty-nine years. She was also involved in Christian organizations including Children’s Home Society, Crisis Pregnancy Center, Moms on the Run, Bible Study Fellowship and Young Life. After Larry retired, one of her favorite roles was being a Regional Speaker for Christian Women’s Clubs where she traveled the Northwest sharing her personal testimony of how Jesus Christ had changed her life – while being chauffeured from city to city by Larry.

Iva Lou loved traveling, entertaining, games, and especially her family. Spending time with them was one of her greatest joys. She was the proud and much-loved mom of three children: Steve Chestnut (Kellie) of Scottsdale, AZ, Mark Chestnut (Cindy) of Bellingham, and Lori Glover (Dan) of Gig Harbor. She was the beloved grandmother of Matt, Stephanie, Monica, Derek, Jenni, Abby and Grady. She was thrilled to be the great-grandmother of Hadley, Lucas, Everly, Gabe, Judah, Lucy and Dawson. Iva Lou is also survived by her brother, Dennis Rood (Nancy) of Kirkland.

The family asks that any memorial contributions go toward sending kids to Young Life camp.
Donations can be made in Iva Lou's honor to Gig Harbor Young Life Camp Scholarships at the link below or by check to Gig Harbor Young Life
PO Box 785
Gig Harbor, WA 98335
(Iva Lou Memorial Campership on Memo Line)