Deceased Classmate: Kiilsgaard, Sven (1971)
Date Of Birth: 3-28-1952
Date Deceased: 4-26-1991
Age at Death: 39
Cause of Death: Train Accident
Classmate City: Arroyo Grande
Classmate State: CA
Classmate Country: USA
Was a Veteran: No
Survived By: Besides his wife, Shona, he is survived by his father and stepmother, Carl C. and June Killsgaard of Moscow, two brothers, Kjel Kiilsgaard of Auburn, Wash., and Carl Kiilsgaard, of Vale, Ore.; two sisters, Sina Kiilsgaard, of Baker City, Ore., and Kirsten Kiilsgaard, of Aberdeen, Wash.; a step-sister, Deena Rauch of Moscow; two nieces and three nephews.

Moscow-Pullman Daily News – April 26, 1991 Svan Kiilsgaard, 39 lived in Moscow Sven Kiilsgaard, a Presbyterian minister and former Moscow resident, was found dead after an apparent accident along a California railroad track last week.

Kiilsgaard, 39, of Arroyo Grande, Calif., apparently died when he fell from a train near Watsonville, Calif., on April 18. Kiilsgaard, a 1975 graduate of the University of Idaho, was a pastor in Arroyo Grande since November.

Kiilsgaard boarded an Amtrak from Oakland to San Luis Obispo, but his wife, Shona, reported him missing when he didn’t arrive at the train station, according to an article in the San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune. Kiilsgaard’s body was found that afternoon along the tracks, and an autopsy indicated he died of injuries suffered when he fell from the train, the newspaper reported. Police said there was no indication of foul play, the article said.

There is speculation that Kiilsgaard, who was under medication to control seizures, could have had a seizure, and tried to get air when the accident occurred, the article said.

Besides his wife, he is survived by his father and stepmother, Carl C. and June Killsgaard of Moscow, two brothers, Kjel Kiilsgaard of Auburn, Wash., and Carl Kiilsgaard, of Vale, Ore.; two sisters, Sina Kiilsgaard, of Baker City, Ore., and Kirsten Kiilsgaard, of Aberdeen, Wash.; a step-sister, Deena Rauch of Moscow; two nieces and three nephews.

Memorial services were conducted this week in California.