Gunnar Johannesson

Gunnar Johannesson, 84, of Lynnwood, WA, died January 30, 2021. Gunnar was born to Johannes Sigurdsson and Gudbjorg Bardardottir February 4, 1936 in Reykjavik, Iceland. After high school graduation Gunnar earned a degree in electronic engineering and radio operation. He married Rosa Sigurdardottir on June 16, 1956 and they lived together in Reykjavik, Iceland, before relocating to Seattle in 1978. Initially Gunnar worked at sea in Iceland as a radio operator and then as an electronic engineer. He started his own company Hljodborg building and installing CB radios, repairing radio equipment, and later installing security systems. After moving to Seattle Gunnar worked in electronics for a few years and went crab fishing in Alaska. In 1988 he founded the company Gunnar Electronics that sold and serviced scales and equipment for the fishing industry that were manufactured by Marel, an Icelandic company established in 1983. Gunnar also co-founded Marel Seattle, Inc. in 1991 with Marel to sell marine flow scales and graders. In 2002 Gunnar retired and his son, Birgir (Bibbi), acquired Gunnar Electronics. Former CEO of Marel, Geir Gunnlaugsson, remembers when Gunnar came to Marel headquarters in Iceland “he was honestly a bit shy and wanted to take over the service of Marel products in Seattle. Thus, began a successful collaboration that lasted a long time. Gunnar Electronics then played a major role in Marel's success in the Seattle area, which laid the foundation for success in the market on the east coast of Russia, providing a strong foundation for the company's operations and ushering in a growth period that can be said to have lasted ever since. Blessed be his memory and thanks for the friendship and business partnership.” While in Iceland Gunnar was an active member of the volunteer Air Ground Rescue Team (FBSR) where he built radios and was in charge of radio communications. He responded to many search and rescue missions in Iceland and at times in Greenland. Besides pioneering radio communications for the FBSR another passion was traveling in Iceland‘s nature. He loved exploring the untouched Icelandic mountains and knew them all by name. Later in life Gunnar and Rosa frequently traveled to Europe and after retirement spent two months every year at their timeshare in Mexico. Gunnar was preceded in death by his wife Rosa in 2014 and sister Sigrun Johannesdottir. He is survived by their three children: Sandra (Petur) Iceland; Birgir (Svava) Lynnwood; and Haukur (Lisa) Seattle. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, a great-great-grandchild, and his sister-in-law Erla Sigurdardottir. In lieu of flowers the family is requesting that donations be made to: Seattle Fishermen‘s Memorial https://www.seattlefishermensmemorial.org or Flugbjorgunarsveitin in Iceland https://www.fbsr.is/styrkja-fbsr/minningarkort/ Due to COVID-19 restrictions no memorial will be held at this time.