Royce W. Irwin, Jr. of South Burlington, born October 31, 1932, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of Monday October 7, 2024, at the McClure Miller Respite House, at the age of 91.

He was born in Henderson Harbor, New York to Royce W. and Emma (Pavlik) Irwin. He grew up working in the Henderson Harbor boat house, tending to boats, teaching kids to swim, and as he would tell many, "I cleaned 44,000 fish to put myself through college".

After graduating from Henderson High School, being one of a very small class of 8 students, he went to SUNY Morrisville. Upon graduation, he was hired by General Electric Company as a mechanical/electrical engineer, which is what brought him to Essex Junction, Vermont. He worked his entire career at G.E. in Burlington, taking early retirement in 1989. He wasn't one to sit around, so he then went on to work at Merchants Bank, as well as prepared taxes for H & R Block for many years.

At a friend's wedding he met his future bride, Marlene Leith. They married on July 8, 1961, and together raised four daughters.

He loved camping at Lake Champagne in Randolph, among other locations, square dancing, and spending time with family and friends. A highly knowledgeable man, if he spent about 15 minutes conversing with anyone he would find some type of personal connection with them. He loved to tell stories, and oh could he talk! He was also a keeper of information, having more recently shared his daily diaries that he kept as a young man.

He was predeceased by his wife of 60 years, sister Mamie and brother-in-law Jerry Lawrence, brother-in-law John Meuser, grandson Ryan Mills, Don Davidson, and close nieces and nephews.

Royce leaves behind, 4 daughters: Shelby (Jamie) Mills; Sonja (Steve) Kelsey; Dawn (Dan) Groleau; Dianne (Danny) Farnham; 7 grandchildren: Collin Mills, Trevor (Stefi) Kelsey, Kipp (Makenna) Kelsey, Troy and Emily Groleau, Makayla and Calvin Farnham, his sister-in-law Karen Meuser, and many wonderful nieces and nephew, and dear and close friends.

While Royce's passing was relatively quick and may not have allowed for a final visit with him, our family would like to give a special thank you to all who have been a part of his life and care including Denny and Linda Johnson, Tony Correia, Dale Hanson, among others, and the caring staff at McClure Miller Respite House.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Royce's name may be made to: McClure Miller Respite House, 3113 Roosevelt Highway, Colchester, VT 05446 and/or

Birds of Vermont Museum, 900 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, VT 05462 www.birdsofvermont.org, which Royce was an avid supporter for greater than 50 years.

Visitation will be on Sunday, October 13, from 10am-11am with a funeral service at 11:00am at LaVigne Funeral & Cremation Service, 132 Main St., Winooski. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery, Old Colchester Rd., in Essex Junction.