Martin Harley Ivener

Martin Harley Ivener, 94, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 11, 2024. Mr. Ivener was born January 20, 1930, in Los Angeles, California, son of Goldie and Sam Ivener. He started his college education at M.I.T. with thoughts of becoming an engineer and then transferred and graduated from USC with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Mathematics. He went on to receive his teaching credential and master’s in education from Cal State, Los Angeles. Martin married a fellow teacher, Susan Scott, from Walter Reed Junior High School, in 1963, and raised their two children in Westminster, California.

Most of Mr. Ivener’s childhood was spent working in the family businesses—either at the Los Angeles auto service station, assisting with his dad’s horse training, or managing the family farmland in Yucaipa. Working his way through college, he delivered eggs to local restaurants for his uncle, and dabbled with horse wagers.

He reported to the army on Thanksgiving Day 1953, during the Korean War. He was initially deployed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and took great pride in his journalism assignment, where he prepared press releases for the General to boast about in the local paper. For extra money, he would officiate local football and basketball games with his friend Paul Lea, an all-American football player from Tulane. One of his favorite memories was from the time he was stationed in Kentucky at Fort Knox, when he had the opportunity to visit a famous horse breeder where his dad had purchased a horse, and attend the Kentucky Derby.

After teaching Algebra to 9th graders for a few years, Mr. Ivener transferred to Harbor City College, where he became a personal finance instructor for 31 years. He wrote and published his own textbook, partnering with his colleague, George Potter, to run the Martin Press publishing company.

As a young professional, he developed a passion for swing dancing and was an instructor for the Arthur Murray studios. After his first wife passed away, he resurrected this love and met his second wife, Bess Marks. They married in 1987 and were a well-known couple attending west coast Dixieland jazz festivals for 20 years. Mr. Ivener kept dancing well into his 90s, attending his last festival in Fresno 2023.

Mr. Ivener is survived by his son, Scott Ivener, Scott’s wife, Aubrey, his daughter, Karen Kimmel, her husband Duke Luper, and Karen’s daughter, Jessica Kimmel. The family will hold a private celebration to honor his life.

To dance is to live; To live is to dance. . . to live music