Stevensville – Jean A. Irvin, 90 passed away Thursday (02/02/2023) of natural causes.
Jean was born March 23, 1932, in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Jeff and Irene Davis. She grew up in Blanox, Pennsylvania and graduated high school in 1950. She continued her education and in 1954 graduated from Slippery Rock College in Pennsylvania.
While attending Slippery Rock College she met and married Richard (Dick) Irvin in 1954.
Never satisfied, and with her trademark energy and enthusiasm, she continued her education and graduated from Ohio State University in 1958 with a master’s degree in health.
After graduating from Ohio State University, the young couple moved to Normal, Illinois in 1959 where they both worked as teachers at Illinois State University. The couple had all three of their children in Illinois.
After the family spent a summer in Western Oregon in 1965 and got a flavor of the west – they were hooked and knew somehow that would be home. Shortly thereafter, Dick accepted a job at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon and Jean accepted a position at Linn Benton Community College in Albany as a health teacher, the rest was history and the family relocated from Illinois to Oregon in 1967 and never looked back.
Jean loved the west and spent much of her free time for the next 50 years skiing, hiking, camping and of course, her favorite – bird watching. Catching a glimpse of a Pileated Woodpecker was like winning the lottery to her. She loved birding more than anything else and traveled all over the west in pursuit of her favorite birds.
Shortly after Dick passed away in 2015, Jean relocated to Stevensville, Montana and met her beloved golden retriever “Belle”. The two became inseparable, Jean could often be seen walking with Belle all around the neighborhood or hiking together at Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge. She was truly the living version of the energizer bunny!
The world lost a very special person with Jean. She was a loving mother and a friend to all who met her. Her contagious optimism, enthusiasm and energy gained her a significant fan base throughout her life and while living in the Bitterroot Valley.
She is survived by her two sons, David in Stevensville, MT, and Dean, his wife Veronica in Folsom, California and her daughter Denise in Spokane, Washington.
No funeral services are planned. Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.whitesittfuneralhome.com.