Chip Irwin

CHIP IRWIN AND HIS LIFE
1951-2013
As I sit down to reflect upon my brother, Chip, and remember as much as I possibly can about his life, I am filled with a sense of gratitude that God would give me such a brother. He was unique from the day he was born, August 25, 1951. His little will was determined even as a baby, and as he began to grow and walk, one could see in him the determination and diligence which would later characterize his adult years. He also had a wild sense of prank and fun, and even as a small boy was busy with plans and schemes to surprise people in the most hilarious way. If I were to describe my brother, I would say he was an extraordinary thinker, with a sense of determination but with a strong sense of play. He brilliantly inherited from our great grand father, Leaton Irwin, a "keen interest in communications of that day and how they affected his business and community." ( from the biography on Leaton Irwin, " Adventure in Enterprise" published by the Irwin Paper Company, 1947, page 24)

The quote of "keen interest in communications" was applied in Chip's day not to the telegraph or to the newspaper but to telecommunications where he worked as a "Coordinator, Computer-Aided Design System Consultant" for AT&T in Denver,Colorado. As the head of his team told me, Chip was involved in the routing of phone calls from one point to another. His work colleagues spoke of his vast reservoirs of knowledge which made him both interesting and resourceful. They also knew of his sense of fun.

As a boy he was very athletic, and played on many teams, hockey goalie at Colorado Academy, downhill racer in Aspen, mountain and rock climber in the mountains around Aspen, bicycler and most of all, he rode trains. (see Chip's train history) I recall one fun tactic he had in which I was also a participant, was to take an old balloon tire bicycle up to the top of Independence Pass outside of Aspen and ride as fast as we could down
the winding road weaving in and out of the tourists in their cars who were trying to navigate their way.

Another fairly benign prank was to hurl water trajectories (balloons) at cars from behind walls and hedges. On a long trip to Europe in 1964, in between all his visits to every train station he could possibly find, we were found to be hurling the same water trajectories out of hotel windows. I remember one such evening as a group of Italian marathoners were racing by our hotel, we hurled our water upon them (they probably enjoyed it) and then came the phone call from the front desk saying in a thick Italian accent, "We understand there are children throwing water out of the window." These were among the many in a developed repertoire of my brother Chip's prankster schemes.

The history of his train riding which extended from around the time he was a toddler until he died was the central love of his life. This is reflected in the collection of railroad items which he collected over his life and which now resides in the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado.

Chip grew up in Aspen surrounded by the world of classical music in the Aspen Music Festival (MAA) where our mother was a trustee. Our family home was constantly the scene of gatherings and dinners where world class musicians and composers would congregate and where the celebrated benefactors would rub shoulders. This didn't give us much privacy, but it certainly developed our love of music. Chip, rode the wave of the rise of rock and roll in the sixties and later applied his talents to being a road manager for singers and groups such as Billy Joel and Yes. In this work he began to involve himself with the fast developing technology which later directed him to AT&T where he most undoubtedly excelled in applying his talents to work in the very high tech world of today. The combination of his brilliant scheming mind, his creative edge, his rather obscure humor and the sense of railroads and routing became his signature among his work colleagues.

Sometime in the eighties, Chip also had a profound faith encounter with God which gave him a deep reverence for the Bible. He then played a classical prank on the USSR by becoming a Bible smuggler into the Ukraine and Estonia before the fall of the Iron Curtain in that nation. My brother was never bombastic, and this I loved about him. When he described something he did, it was in detail but never exaggerated. If there were any book in the Bible I could use to describe my brother it would be the book of Proverbs; practical, straight forward and economical.

One of the funnier moments of discovery in his home after he passed away was the collection of Soviet military coats and hats from his smuggling days. He enjoyed dressing in other costumes, and another recollection I have is his meeting me at the Denver Stapleton Airport wearing the full regalia of a Saudi prince including the Ray Ban sunglasses. On the way to Aspen,he asked me to pull over so that he could pretend to be a visiting Saudi official while I would play the role as a tour guide. This turned many a head as the cars drove by.

As his sister, I had the privilege to watch all this spark, grow and develop throughout the stages of his life. My greatest joy was to share in his passion for the railroad, and I was very happy to find a resting place for him quite close to the Railroad Museum and a line called the historical Georgetown loop. My other joy is that not only was he my brother and very good friend in flesh and blood, but he became my brother in Christ as well. As we buried him in the Golden Cemetery, we read the following Scriptures: John 11 and Revelations 21 both pointing to the day when all our hopes shall be fulfilled and to have another of our "family reunions" (hopefully in a more heavenly railroad yard).
Until then, May my brother Chip rest in the Peace that passes all understanding,through Christ Jesus our Lord.