Donald Jay Irwin (September 7, 1926 – July 7, 2013) was a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Connecticut's 4th district, Connecticut State Treasurer and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Norwalk, Connecticut.

Early life and family

He was born to American parents, Montrose Wellington Irwin and Marion Reynolds Irwin in

Rosario, Argentina Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most po ...

in 1926.Political Graveyard
/ref> Irwin came to the

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in 1945 to attend

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. Soon after enrolling at Yale, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, where he served with the Joint Brazil-United States Military Commission in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. After army service, he returned to Yale and graduated in 1951. He played rugby and soccer at Yale. In addition, he swam for the school team. He taught Spanish at Yale while a student there. He married Mary Stapleton on August 23, 1952. Together they had four children; Patrick (born 1953), Marion, Lucy (born 1959) and Stephen (born 1960). He graduated

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

in 1954. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and commenced the practice of law in Connecticut.

Political career

Irwin served as member of the Norwalk Board of Education. He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Eighty-sixth Congress (January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961). He was a delegate to Democratic National Convention from Connecticut in 1960. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1960 to the

Eighty-seventh Congress The 87th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1961 ...

. He was appointed general counsel,

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, 1961. He was appointed treasurer of the State of Connecticut by Gov. John N. Dempsey in 1962. He served from 1961 to 1963 Irwin was elected to the Eighty-ninth and Ninetieth Congresses (January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1969). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1968 to the Ninety-first Congress. He then resumed the practice of law. Irwin was elected

of Norwalk, Connecticut, in November 1971, defeating

Jacob Rudolf Jacob Paul Rudolf (born February 18, 1926) is an American retired politician who was a Democratic member of the Connecticut Senate from 1967 to 1973, and a Republican member of the Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State H ...

. He was reelected in 1973 and was not a candidate for reelection in 1975. Irwin died of heart problems on July 7, 2013, at the age of 86.

Life after politics

After ending his career in politics, Irwin began involving himself in local teaching jobs around Norwalk. He was a permanent substitute teacher a Brien McMahon high school between the years 1995–2000. He also became a grandfather to 11 grandchildren. His first son, Patrick, had two children; Ana and Thomas Irwin. His first daughter, Marion, also had two children; Homer and Mary Turgeon. Lucile gave birth to three children; Ella, Stuart, and Owen Christoph. His youngest, Stephen, had four children; Jay, Matthew, Luke, and Elizabeth Irwin.

Associations

*Member,

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

*Member, Jaycees

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Donald Jay 1926 births 2013 deaths Argentine emigrants to the United States Argentine people of English descent Burials in Saint John's Cemetery (Norwalk, Connecticut) Connecticut lawyers Mayors of Norwalk, Connecticut People from Rosario, Santa Fe State treasurers of Connecticut United States Army soldiers Yale College alumni Yale Law School alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers