Gary H. Irwin

Gary Howard Irwin, age 88, of Little Falls, passed away Thursday, June 4th at the St. Cloud VA Medical Center. He was born July 12, 1937 in Lansing, MN - the third of twelve children of Howard and Dorothy (Thompson) Irwin. He was raised in Austin, MN where he delivered newspapers for the Austin Herald, worked in an office supply store and did cement work with his father, graduating from high school in 1955. Gary enlisted in the U.S. Army, studied the Russian language at Monterey, California, and was stationed in Germany and Sinop, Turkey as a radio intercept operator for the Army Security Agency. Following his military service, he did road construction work in southern MN and was an insurance investigator in Minneapolis. He married Gloria Kamp at St. John's Lutheran Church in Austin, Minnesota in November 1962. He studied biology and education at the University of Minnesota, and accepted a teaching position at Little Falls High School in 1967. He fell in love with the tall pines on a 40-acre property NW of Little Falls, where he lived from 1970-2020, enjoying hunting, logging lumber from the giant white pine trees, doing mechanical tinkering, and running a hobby farm. Gary retired in 1998 after teaching for 31 years, and later delivered groceries for Coborn’s and Don's Food Pride and volunteered at the MN Military & Veterans Museum at Camp Ripley. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church since moving to Little Falls in 1967, and served in various congregational roles over the years. His greatest rewards were learning of the successes of his students and spending time with his grandchildren. Survivors include his wife Gloria of Little Falls; brothers Hugh (Monika) of Isanti, MN and Mike of Austin, MN; sister Kay Buege of St Paul, MN; sons Jeff (Colleen) Irwin of Colorado Springs, CO and Jeremy (Regina) Irwin of Foley, MN; daughter Rebecca (Keith) Wolfe of Rice, MN; grandchildren Brandon (Jane) Schulze, Kaitlyn (Jaymes) Sajczuk, Ashley & Cherilyn Brastad, Mathias & Michaela Wolfe, Sean Chapp, Chris Irwin, Karen Wegner; and 8 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Lesley, Charles and Donald; and sisters Jean, Catherine, Patricia, Tina, and Terry.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 13 at 11:00 A.M. at Zion Lutheran Church, 411 3rd Avenue NE, Little Falls, MN 56345 with Pastor Brandon Johnson officiating. Visitation will be held on Friday, June 12 from 4:00-7:00 P.M. at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service, 900 1st Street SE, Little Falls, MN and from 9:00 A.M. until the hour of the service on Saturday, June 13 at the church.

Military Honors will be provided at the MN State Veterans Cemetery in a private family ceremony. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association .

Emblom Brenny Funeral Service is Cherishing the Memory and Celebrating the Life of Gary.