Claire Kittle is mourning the death of her longtime friend, former University of Iowa volleyball player Kari Pekar. She was 33.
“How lucky are we to have the most beautiful angel watching over us forever,” Kittle, 32, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Friday, July 31, sharing footage from Pekar’s memorial service. “We love you with every part of us, Karbear.”
In a follow-up slide, Kittle noted that the memorial held on Thursday, July 30, “was beautiful.”
Pekar died last month after a battle with cancer.
“University of Iowa volleyball letterwinner Kari [Mueller] Pekar passed away June 10 following a courageous battle with cancer,” a press release shared via the college’s website in June read. “Pekar was a member of the Iowa volleyball team from 2011-14, where she appeared in 20+ matches in each of her four seasons as a Hawkeye. Overall, she played in 93 matches and made 17 starts. Pekar finished her career with 357 digs, 33 assists and 17 aces.”
Kari, who is survived by husband Peter Pekar and daughter Ivy, graduated from Iowa in 2015 with a degree in health and human physiology. She later earned a nursing degree from Kirkwood Community College.
“We’ve dreaded this day. Our sweet, perfect girl Karbear went to Heaven,” Claire wrote via Instagram last month. “There is no one more caring, more loving, more genuine, or more kind than Kari. We didn’t deserve her, and God knew it. She gets to be home with Him now, finally pain-free. … Kari is the strongest girl we know. She endured more in her young life than most people could ever bear, and we are so proud of her. We stand in awe of her every single day. She lived her life so fully, so happily and so positively.”
Kari attended Iowa alongside Claire, who played for the women’s basketball team. During her tenure in college, Claire began dating now-husband George Kittle long before he was drafted to the San Francisco 49ers in 2017.
Claire is now George’s biggest fan, and has no issues being called a “WAG.” (The slang term is short for “Wives and Girlfriends” of professional athletes.)
“It’s a short and quick term, you know? What else would have the same effect? It kind of works,” Claire exclusively told Us in 2024. “Understandably so, [the term] kind of has a connotation around it because of [E!’s WAGS] series. It was, like, a drama series. My experience has not been like that. Especially not here.”
For Claire, she stressed that it was “unbelievable” joining Niners Nation.
“This is our eighth year, which is just rare in itself to have him play for one team for his entire career thus far,” the influencer recalled at the time. “We’re just so blessed and grateful to be part of this organization. They really are top in the NFL and you’ll hear that across the board from other families, too.”
On top of that, Claire dispelled rumors that the Niners’ spouses considered themselves rivals of other teams’ partners.
“Women are more involved in sports. They’re more interested in what’s going on,” Claire said, acknowledging how Taylor Swift brought in new fans when she started dating now-husband Travis Kelce. “That’s great for all parties. I’m huge on empowering women. We can all be great, we can all be successful. Unless we play against them, then it’s a different story.”
