Ian R. Pelletier, of Papillion, Neb., passed away peacefully on July 26, 2025 at the age of 62 in Papillion, NE.
He was born on March 10, 1963 in Frankfurt, Germany and traveled the world both as a military child and as an Air Force Officer. He was a loving Husband, Dad and Pop. Ian was married to Cherish, and they celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary on April 23, 2025. He will forever be missed by his family and friends.
He is survived by his wife, son Kristopher (Irina), daughters Katie (CJ) and Abby (Ben). He was also blessed with four grandchildren Anastasia, Teddy, Roland and Gus. He was preceded in death by his father Roger.
Ian was a proud American and dedicated his life to our country. His story began with attending the Citadel and graduating and commissioning as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force in 1985. During his 20 years of active duty service, Ian was stationed at a multitude of bases including, Cannon AFB, NM, Comiso Air Station, Sicily, Loring AFB, ME, Sheppard AFB, TX, Araxos AB, Greece and Offutt AFB, NE as an Aircraft and Munitions Maintenance Officer. His active duty journey culminated in an honorable retirement from the Air Force at the rank of Major in 2005.
Upon retiring from the Air Force, he dedicated another 20 years of his life as a Department of Defense civilian, reaching the level of Branch Chief at J-87 at the United States Strategic Command. He was loved by all his coworkers and always sought out for his knowledge, problem solving skills and witty sense of humor.
Apart from his career, Ian enjoyed being a part of all his kids’ activities. He was a devoted cub scout leader, band parent and cross-country supporter. In addition to supporting his kids on the sideline, he thrived in environments of running the show by taking over his kids’ school projects, writing their essays, helping them with homework, planning vacations, and lighting the neighborhood on fire during Fourth of July fireworks.
Ian enjoyed many of the other finer things in life as well, including gardening, being outside in the yard working on whatever project he had going on, co-sponsoring the Nebraska Citadel Foundation, coin collecting and traveling the world with his wife. Ian was a caregiver and would always reach out to those in need. He will always be loved and remembered as a wonderful man who put others before himself as well as someone who loved and cared about everyone’s well-being. His final act of kindness was being an organ donor to those in need. Even in death, Ian is showing us what it means to be an amazing person who puts others first.
In Lieu of Flowers Memorials may be directed to the Pelletier Family.