William Simmons Irwin 1878-1952

IRWIN, NAU, BROOD, NELSON

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 7/3/2010 at 16:08:40

William Irwin, 73, Retired Farmer, Dies

William Simmons Irwin, 73, retired farmer and flour mill foreman, died at 1 p.m. yesterday at his home, 5 Second avenue south.

Mr. Irwin was born in Ponca City, Neb., Dec. 23, 1878, and moved to Emmet county in 1889. He married Bessie Biglow [Bigelow] in 1905.

The couple farmed the first 10 years of married life in Iowa and South Dakota.

They then moved to Rudyard, Mich., in 1915 where Mr. Irwin was a foreman in a flour and feed mill until August, 1928. At that time he was seriously injured by a falling timber and he never recovered fully his former strength and health. In 1930 he returned to Emmet county.

He has been a member of the Presbyterian church since he was 14 years old.

Surviving his death are his wife; a daughter, Mrs. Omer (Wilma) Nau of Mound, Minn.; two sons, Arthur and Lt. Col. Robert at home on leave from the air force; three grandchildren, Jonathan and James Nau and William Eugene Irwin; two sisters, Mrs. Leonard Brood of South Gate, Calif.; and Mrs. Alfred Nelson of Armstrong and a brother, Asa C. Irwin of Milwaukee, Wis.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday but time and place have not been set as yet. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, May 5, 1952)

Funeral services for William Irwin, who died at 1 p.m. Sunday at the age of 73, will be held at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Sandin funeral home, the Rev. Thomas G. Melton officiating. In addition to survivors listed in Mr. Irwin’s obituary yesterday is a granddaughter, Diane Ruth Irwin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Irwin of Estherville. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, May 6, 1952)