William Lee Irvine

William Lee (Bill) Irvine passed away peacefully on June 26, 2023 surrounded by his family. Born March 16, 1935 in Southgate, CA, Bill travelled the country and the world as part of his 20 years serving in the US Air Force where he achieved the rank of Senior Master Sergeant. During his stint in Salt Lake City, Bill met the love of his life, Shirlene (Blackett). It was love at first sight and they were married less than a year later. And that marriage lasted more than 67 years. They had two daughters, Crystal (Leon) and Jamie (Riley) whom he loved tremendously. He was a fantastic father in-law to Glen and Danny. Bill was a loving father and a doting grandfather to Shane, Nicole, Steven, Brooke and Cheyanne. He was also great grandpa to Denver, Caden, Carlee, Emmy, Corbin, Chayce, Cooper, Carson and Stevie. Bill loved his family and always had a smile on his face whenever he was around the kids. And the kids adored him. He also loved his music, amassing a huge collection of CD’s and audio equipment. Whenever you visited Bill you could expect to be dragged into his music room to hear the latest addition to the collection. Bill also loved tinkering in his yard and garden. You would swear he measured each blade of grass and hand trimmed them to the perfect height. Bill also knew every bad “dad” joke and relished in telling them to make everyone cringe. After the service Bill spent 22 years as a mail carrier, working out of various offices in the Salt Lake valley. Bill was the most honest and generous man you could ever meet. Nobody could ever pick up the tab when they went to dinner with Bill and random gifts would show up for no other reason than Bill wanted to buy you something. He was preceded in death by his mom Florence, dad Ernest and sister Ella.
The family will hold a small celebration of life at a later time. In lieu of flowers, hug your kids and family, listen to some great music that will make you smile and tell a bad joke that will make everyone else cringe. Bill would love that.