Pharmacist Werner Ívan Rasmusson dies at 95
Tuesday 13th October 2026 on 09:01 in
Iceland
Pharmacist Werner Ívan Rasmusson died on October 10, aged 95, mbl.is reported.
Rasmusson was born in Reykjavík on February 26, 1931. His parents were Ivan Hugo Rasmusson, a lathe worker born in Copenhagen, and Ólína Bjarnadóttir Rasmusson, born in Þingeyri by Dýrafjörður. His brother is Carl Bjarni Rasmusson, an aircraft engineer born in 1940.
He attended Landakot School, Reykjavík Secondary School and Reykjavík Junior College, graduating in 1950. He then studied pharmacy at Reykjavíkurapótek, a pharmacy, and the Pharmacy School of Iceland, where he completed the preliminary examination. In October 1953, he went to Copenhagen for further pharmacy studies at Danmarks Farmaceutiske Højskole, graduating as a pharmacist in 1955.
Rasmusson began his career as a pharmacist at Reykjavíkurapótek and taught at the Pharmacy School of the Pharmacists’ Association of Iceland in the winters of 1956 and 1957. He was chief pharmacist at Apótek Austurbæjar from 1956 to 1963 and Laugavegsapótek from 1963 to 1973. He was managing director of Pharmaco hf. and Kemikalia hf. from 1973 to 1976, then pharmacist at Ingólfsapótek from 1976 until his retirement in 1999.
He was active in business and involved in the operation of several companies. He took part in community organisations, was a Scout from a young age, worked with the Freemasons and was an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Kópavogur. In 2002, he received the gold medal of the Icelandic Pharmacists Association for his service to the profession. He also wrote many articles for Morgunblaðið.
His first wife was Anna Kristjana Karlsdóttir, who died in 1994. They had five children: Ólafur Ívan, born in 1957; Anna Margrét, born in 1960; Karl Emil, born in 1962; Ingunn Gyða, born in 1964; and Steingrímur, born in 1966.
His second wife is Kristín Sigurðardóttir, born in 1940 in Úthlíð in Biskupstungur. The couple built a summer house there and also owned a house in the United States, where they spent long periods. Kristín’s children are Sigurður Haukur Greipsson, born in 1962, and Hrönn Greipsdóttir, born in 1966. At Rasmusson’s request, his funeral will be held privately.