Charles Irvin

This is the obituary notice of a fine man I considered to be a good friend. Charles Irvin was a member of a family with an impeccable reputation and was himself without peer. He had spent the last few years of his life in an assisted living home. This had been brought on by his sustaining a broken wrist and other injuries in an automobile accident while driving a much larger car than the Volkswagen Beetle he had long driven. He had been one of the bright spots in the Mary Willis Library where he last worked.


Charles Edgar Irvin
Funeral services for Charles Edgar Irvin, 88, of Washington, were held Wednesday, November 14, 2007, at the Washington Presbyterian Church with Rev. Charles Cook and Rev. Carol Pitts officiating. Interment was in Resthaven Cemetery, Washington.

Mr. Irvin was the son of the late Isaiah Tucker Irvin IV and Ida Lee Hill Irvin and was born in Washington. He graduated from Washington High School as Valedictorian of the Class of 1937. He received an A.B. from Emory University in 1941, where he was a member of SAE. Later he received a library degree from the University of Chicago, and in 1950, received a Masters in Library Science from Emory University. He served in the United States Army during World War II, receiving an honorable discharge in 1946. His career as a librarian was spent in several college libraries and many years service as head of the acquisitions department of the library of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Later in life, he was the technical director of the Bartram Trail Regional Library System at the Mary Willis Library in Washington.

A lifelong Presbyterian, he was a member of the Washington Presbyterian Church where he served many years as an Elder and Trustee, frequently filling in as organist. He was a charter member of the Augusta Genealogical Society and for many years served as a volunteer librarian. He was a member of the Washington-Wilkes Historical Foundation, the Washington-Wilkes Country Club, Friends of the Mary Willis Library, the Samuel Elbert Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the South Carolina Historical Society and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

Survivors include a niece, Reba Prince Griffith of Atlanta; and two nephews, Blake Prince of St. Matthews, S.C., and Tucker Irvin of Sandwich, Mass.

Pallbearers included Jerry Stover, Marion Slaton, Carlton Norris, Stephen Blackmon, Irvin Cheney, and Warren Fortson.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Washington Presbyterian Church, 206 E. Robert Toombs Ave., Washington 30673; the Mary Willis Library, 204 E. Liberty Street, Washington; the Augusta Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 3743, Augusta, Ga., 30914-3743; or the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, 1516 Peachtree St., N.W., Atlanta, Ga. 30309-2916.

Hopkins Funeral Home of Washington was in charge of arrangements.
Reader Comments


"WASHINGTON, Ga. - Mr. Charles Edgar Irvin, of Washington, Georgia, died November 11, 2007 at Wills Memorial Hospital. Mr. Irvin, the son of the late Isaiah Tucker Irvin, IV and Ida Lee Hill, was born in Washington, Georgia on July 30, 1919. He was preceded in death by a sister, Anne Hill Irvin Prince and a brother, Isaiah Tucker Irvin, V. He is survived by a niece, Reba Prince Griffith of Atlanta; two nephews, Blake Prince of St. Matthews, S.C. and Tucker Irvin of Sandwich, Mass.; a great-niece, Anne Callaway Griffith of the University of Georgia; and a cousin, Leona Strickland Hudson of Valdosta.

"Mr. Irvin graduated from Washington High School as Valedictorian of the Class of 1937. He received an A.B. degree from Emory University in 1941, where he was a member of S.A.E. Later he received a library degree from the University of Chicago and in 1950, received a Masters in Library Science from Emory University.

"He served in the United States Army during WWII, receiving an honorable discharge in 1946.

"His career as a librarian was spent in several college libraries with many years service as head of the acquisitions department of the library of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Later in life, he was the Technical Director of the Bartram Trail Library System at the Mary Willis Library in Washington.

"A life-long Presbyterian, he was a member of the Washington Presbyterian Church where he served many years as an Elder and Trustee, frequently filling in as organist.

"He was a charter member of the Augusta Genealogical Society and for many years served as a volunteer librarian. He was a member of the Washington-Wilkes Historical Foundation, the Washington-Wilkes Country Club, Friends of the Mary Willis Library, the Samuel Elbert Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the South Carolina Historical Society, and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

"The funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. at the Washington Presbyterian Church conducted by the Rev. Charles Cook and the Rev. Carol Pitts followed by interment in Resthaven Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. Tuesday evening at Hopkins Funeral Home.

"Memorial gifts may be made to the Washington Presbyterian Church, 206 E. Robert Toombs Ave., Washington, Ga. 30673, the Mary Willis Library, 204 E. Liberty Street, Washington, Ga., the Augusta Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 3743, Augusta, Georgia 30914-3743, or the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, 1516 Peachtree St., N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30309-2916. Hopkins Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Sign the guestbook at AugustaChronicle.com"