Obituary of Paul Irvine

Paul Frederick Irvine, 92, of Cazenovia, NY, died suddenly on November 22, 2015 (he was planning to live to 100!). Paul was a Jamestown (Bemus Point), New York native, born on August 7, 1923, the son of Francis Arvid Irvine and Madelyn Agusta Jorgenson Irvine. He attended Lakewood High School in Jamestown. He graduated from Syracuse University as a Civil Engineer in 1954, after taking a sabbatical to join the Navy in February of 1943. He was a member of the Syracuse University varsity crew team. After naval training, Paul flew the Navy's F6 Hellcat off the Essex class carrier Bon Homme Richard in the Pacific. (He ditched once while training off Hawaii, and went on a hair-raising bombing run over Tokyo before the war ended.) Traveling back through Europe with some buddies after the war, he met his future wife, Kay (nee Kvetoslava Novakova), who was employed by the American Embassy in Frankfurt, Germany, having recently escaped from Russian occupied Czechoslovakia. A year after getting married, they traveled back to Central New York, living first at Slocum Heights at Syracuse University while Paul finished his degree. Their next home was a real "fixer-upper" in Manlius. They finally settled outside Cazenovia in the town of Fenner, restoring a farm house built in 1799. Through all of this time, they raised four children, and had four horses and sundry cats and dogs. Paul first worked with Roswell W. Cull in Chittenango; then many years at W. C. Pahl Construction in Syracuse, before retiring in 1990, then worked independently as Irvine Construction. Paul arranged a number of reunions for his fighter wing VF(N) 91. (VF stands for "Heavier-than-Air Fighting Squadron"; N stands for "Night".) How he loved that plane! He also loved clambakes and Syracuse University sports. He continued to play basketball at the YMCA in downtown Syracuse into his late 70's. Paul also did extensive research on his family heritage (yes, there was some royalty back there in Denmark!), as well as on the land and house in Cazenovia, for many years. Kay pre-deceased him this past February. (Paul's brother Philip Marshall Irvin also pre-deceased him.) This past summer, at age 92, as indomitable as ever, he took his single scull out on Onondaga Lake for a spin! He also went to the downtown YMCA (a member for over 50 years) three times a week, and had the wonderful opportunity to take the Honor Flight, out of Syracuse, in October. Surviving are his four children and spouses: Peter Philip of Syracuse (Barb), Paul Vladimir of Rochester (Karen), Barbara Marie Giardina of Erieville (Jim), and David Francis of Jamesville (Mary); 13 grand children and 15 great-grand children. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m., Saturday, December 5, 2015 at Michael E. Brown Funeral Services, Cazenovia. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery. Calling hours are 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, December 5 at the funeral home, 2333 Fenner Rd., Cazenovia. Contributions in memory of Mr. Irvine may be made to Honor Flight Syracuse, Inc., P.O. Box 591, Syracuse, NY 13209-0591.