Former Reykjanesbær councillor Gunnar Þórarinsson dies at 77

Former Reykjanesbær municipal councillor Gunnar Þórarinsson has died at 77, mbl.is reports. He died on November 3 at the Nesvellir nursing home. Víkurfréttir reported his death.

Born in Reykjavík on April 11, 1949, Þórarinsson grew up in the Vogahverfi neighbourhood. His parents were carpenter Þórarinn Jens Óskarsson and Guðlaug Sæmundsdóttir, a homemaker and seamstress.

He completed secondary school at MR in 1969 and qualified as a carpenter at Iðnskólinn í Reykjavík in 1972. He apprenticed with his father while also pursuing university studies, and completed a degree in business administration at the University of Iceland in 1975.

After graduating, Þórarinsson worked for a time at the Price Office and taught business subjects at Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja for 15 years. He later founded and ran the company Rekstrarþjónustan with his wife for many years.

He served on the Reykjanesbær town council from 2010 to 2022, first representing the Independence Party and later Frjálst afl, a local political group he helped establish in 2014. He was president of the town council from 2010 to 2011 and chair of the town council’s executive committee from 2011 to 2014. He also chaired the board of utilities company HS Veitur from 2015 to 2019.

Active in sports, Þórarinsson played football and handball for Fram, Breiðablik and Njarðvík. He joined the board of UMFN’s football department in 1976 and chaired it from 1982 to 1988. He also chaired the Suðurnes Sports Association from 1979 to 1984, served on UMFN’s basketball department board from 1996 to 1998, and led Golfklúbbur Suðurnesja from 2002 to 2008. His honours included the KSÍ silver badge, the UMFÍ service badge and UMFN’s gold badge with a laurel wreath. He also served for many years on the parish committee of Ytri-Njarðvík Church.

His wife, Steinunn Sighvatsdóttir, is a hairdresser and bookkeeper. They had three children, 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.