Hubert Ronald Irvine

November 26 1922 – August 13, 2020

Hubert Ronald Irvine was born on November 26, 1922 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was known to most as Hugh and Dad to his seven children. He passed peacefully from this life on August 13, 2020 at home in Houston surrounded by his family and cherished caregiver, Barbara Goode.

Dad spent his early years in Hillsdale, NJ. He was the youngest and last surviving of the four children of William and Dolores Irvine. He remained close to his siblings, Dorothy and Stuart, throughout his life. He was particularly close to his brother Walter "Buddy", a naval aviator, who lost his life in WW2.

After high school, he left for Boston and attended Tufts University. It was the war years and they took no breaks. He graduated with his first degree in 3 years and joined the Navy. He served on the aircraft carrier, USS Monterey.

Following the war, he returned to Tufts completing his Masters degree in Chemical Engineering. His academic career was cut short when he took a position with Standard Oil so that he could be close to his father whose health was failing. This began a 40 plus year career with Exxon. His time at Tufts and association with the university were always important to him.

In 1951, he married Claire Marie Carlough. The family story is that dad was walking to the beach with a couple of other girls when he met the beautiful and barefoot Claire. They were together from then on. This happened at Shore Acres on the Jersey Shore, a place that would be central to their lives and our family's history.

They settled in Edison, NJ where they started building a family of two girls and five boys. The first, Bruce, in 1952 and the last, Kerry, in 1965. A family with seven children was not that rare back then, just "a good Catholic Family". The time between 1952 and 1971 was all about raising kids celebrating birthdays, Christmas and summers at the shore. This is where his older kids grew up.

If lives are lived in chapters, then a significant new chapter was begun in 1971 when not only was Dad's job but the whole company was moved from New York City to Houston. In 1971, a man with a family of nine to support did not just change jobs or careers like we might do today so it was off to Texas. It would be hard to overstate the dread the family felt about the move. Mom was resolved that this was the end. Dad remained confident and as was true for so many families that moved to Houston in the 70's, he created a great life for his family here. Mom turned in to the biggest fan of the move and thrived. The younger children grow up here. Dad and Mom grew old together here.

After retiring, he had the opportunity to follow his love for literature. He enrolled in The University of Houston and took just about every literature class available. He also enrolled in summer programs to study at the University of Cambridge. This was a great opportunity for him and Mom to explore Europe. He probably used this opportunity to explain to the English what Shakespeare really intended.

In the latter years, Dad's greatest challenge was preserving Mom's quality of life as she suffered from recurring breast cancer. There were some difficult days but mostly good days. Dad's loving care for his

wife will always be a shining star of love and compassion. Mom moved on from her earthly life in 2014 with Dad holding her hand and expressing his love. They are once again together.

If his wife was here today and she was asked what is the thing you want people to know about Hugh, she would tell you he was always honest and did the right thing just because it was right. He never determined right and wrong by calculating gain or loss. She would also tell you what real love feels like.

He loved his wife, his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and we all loved him.

Hubert Ronald Irvine was preceded in death by his wife Claire Marie Irvine and son Bruce Irvine. He is survived by his children, Hugh Brian Irvine, Tracey Donohue, Scott Irvine, and Timothy Irvine, Ross Irvine and Kerry Clamon, nine grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

There is so much unsaid.

Services

All the adjectives used to describe the pandemic have been used. The Irvine family is committed to keeping safe and keeping everyone around us safe. We would not want anyone to risk their health to participate in services for our father. There will be a Mass at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church 7810 Cypress wood Drive Spring, Texas 77379 @ 11:00 am, Tuesday August 18, 2020. The church has put in place protocols for safety. The Irvine Family will be there but will remain isolated from any other attendees. There will be a grave side service at 1:00 pm the same day at Klein Memorial Park: 9714 FM 2920,Tomball TX  77375. This will be outside.

The Irvine family understands the situation and asks that you consider your health and maybe find another way to honor the memory of Hubert Irvine. There are so many in need because of the pandemic, it would not be hard to find a place to spread a bit of God's grace.