Business leader Jack Irwin dies at 90

LACONIA — The city lost one of its greatest businessmen, storytellers and citizens on New Year’s Day, when Jack Irwin, 90, died at his home.

John P. “Jack” Irwin, a native of Laconia, was one of the sons of Jim Irwin Sr., founder of Irwin Marine and one of the entrepreneurs who turned Weirs Beach into a destination for vacationers. Jack Irwin, along with his brother, took over their father’s operations. Irwin Marine, now more than a century old and operated by a third generation of the family, is one of the largest boat dealers in the state.

Bill Irwin, one of Jack’s three children, said his father passed away on Jan. 1 while resting in his favorite chair, in his home, in a city where he spent all of his years except for college and military service.

“He died peacefully in his home,” Bill said, citing old age as the apparent cause.

Jack was the youngest of five children born to Jim Sr. and Ella Irwin. His parents taught him at an early age that work came before play, requiring Jack to pick up discarded popcorn boxes left the previous night on the Weirs boardwalk before he could swim at the beach.

Young Jack could be persuaded to stray, though. One of his favorite stories to tell was the time when he, barely old enough to drive, was given the keys to the family car and told to place posters around town advertising the musical acts coming to Weirs Beach, Bill said. “He picked up one of his buddies and his buddy talked him into going to the top of Mount Washington.” At the summit, Jack decided it would be a good laugh to put up a poster. They then went back home, and Jack thought he could cover his tracks by saying that the car broke down – and that’s why he didn’t hang posters. That story worked until the newspapers got wind of the fact that Jim Irwin was advertising his ballroom at the state’s highest peak.

“Well, he probably got in trouble in some ways, but in other ways everyone was laughing,” Bill said.

In 1966, Jack and his brother, Jim Jr., took over the family enterprises: Irwin Marine and the Winnipesaukee Gardens, the latter of which was a ballroom that their father had built to welcome the biggest names of the Big Band era. Under their management, they transitioned it to bring in acts that appealed to younger crowds, such as the Beach Boys. Meanwhile, their brother Robert was growing Irwin Motors, also in Laconia.

Jack and Jim Jr. sold the Gardens in 1976, when limited parking started to curtail audience sizes, and that allowed them to focus on the boat business. The two brothers made a critical decision in that era, adding a second line of boats, Sea Ray, to complement the Chris Crafts that Jim Sr. had been selling for decades. Today, the dealership offers several other brands, from kayaks to yachts.

But business wasn’t the first thing on his father’s mind, Bill said. “He taught us to give back, that business is business, but more important, people are people. And taking care of people comes first,” Bill said. “He had a lot of fun, always cracking jokes and telling stories and making people laugh.”

Once, when Bill was about 35 years old, he and his father were preparing to deliver a boat to a customer, when they encountered a problem. The registration numbers hadn’t been applied to the craft, and the lift they used to reach the hull of a dry-docked boat was broken. “So, he came into my office and said, we need your help,” Bill recalled. He, his father and the boat’s new owner climbed into the boat, where Jack handed the registration decals to Bill and told him to lean over the side as far as he could, then Bill felt himself descending farther down.

“The customer had one leg and he had the other, and we got it done,” Bill said, describing how he stuck on the numbers while dangling upside down. “It was comical, everyone was laughing and having a good time.”

Jack was well-known around town, especially at his favorite places to eat. Laurie Dinsmoor, bartender at Hector’s, said she could count on seeing Jack at least once per week, and he was a favorite of everyone on the staff.

“We always fought over who was going to wait on him, we all loved him, gave him big hugs,” Dinsmoor said.

It was the same at the Water Street Cafe, according to owner Ted Roy.

“We would see him pull into the parking lot, we would get his coffee ready and put cream in it, and ask the kitchen to get his fresh fruit ready,” all while Jack was still making his way to the front door. Sometimes he would sit with friends, Roy said, sometimes he would sit with someone who was about to become a friend.

“He would sit down and start talking, and people would enjoy his stories,” Roy said. Being in the food service, Roy said he remembers one story in particular, about how Jack’s parents solved the problem of the piping hot piece of pizza. They ran a pizza parlor, and put a single slice of tomato at the center of each pie so that the roof of the customer’s mouth wouldn’t be scorched by bubbling cheese.

Jack told the story multiple times, Roy said, “and we laughed over it each time.”

More often, though, those stories were about the Marine Corps or Boston College football, both of which Jack was proud to be affiliated with, according to Deb Cheney, who assisted Jack in his later years.

“Boston College ran a close second in his loyalty to the USMC,” Cheney said. “Jack was a star football player and loved telling me the finer details of some of the tougher games. I was honored to be Jack’s friend, confidant and caregiver these last few years. As with everyone who ever knew him, there will forever be a huge void in my life.”

One of those stories was about a Boston College-Clemson game in which Jack, playing defensive back, hit the running back so hard that they both ended up in the same hospital. By the time they were discharged, they had forged a great friendship.

Jack played in all three phases of the game at BC: offense, defense, and on special teams, where he was a punter. Laconia High School football coach Craig Kozens said Jack Irwin was one of the first people he met after taking the job.

“I thought the world of Jack, one of the greatest and proudest Laconians that I have ever met,” Kozens said. Jack would schedule a time to visit practices to mentor young punters, and Kozens said it was Jack’s coaching that led to Laconia having three consecutive all-state punters.

Ben Groleau, class of ‘07, was one of the young players Jack worked with. “He used to watch me and give me constructive feedback,” Groleau said. Jack was an expert on the finer mechanics of punting: where to strike the ball with the foot, what angle to drop the ball at, how to perfect the “rocker step.” It wasn’t just his knowledge, Groleau said, it was how he offered it.

“He was extremely respectful. He would get straight to the point. His demeanor was, I’ve seen a few things but you’ve seen a few things, too,” Groleau said. “He was a guy that we loved around our program. I was happy that I had my moments with him.”

For Kozens, another defining story about Jack Irwin came when the high school was planning to renovate its athletic fields and the plan included a change from natural grass to an engineered playing surface. At first, Jack, who was appointed to the committee to research the change, was adamantly against it. That was, until he began to do the research.

“He returned to the committee with a three-inch, three-ring binder of information that led to have everyone convinced that the Field Turf was a safety and financial first choice option,” Kozens said. Jack found that the new generation of artificial playing surfaces resulted in fewer head and knee injuries.

That open-mindedness was in line with Jack’s long-standing support of Laconia athletics. “All Jack wanted was for the kids to have opportunities to play and have the safest equipment made,” Kozens said. “(He was) just a great man who was proud of his two boys and his daughter, his family business, and his city. He was a great man whom I will truly miss.”

Bill said his father cherished his golden years. “He was trying to enjoy life with family and friends,” he said. “He kept busy all the way up to the end.”

Jack was twice married, first to Jane Irwin, then to Mary Irwin. In his later years he had a girlfriend, Brenda Dearborn, said Bill. Jack’s other children are John and Jacqui.

The family intends to schedule a funeral mass and services in the summer, Bill said, in the hopes that “everyone that wishes to attend can.”