[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 146 (Thursday, November 15, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         IN MEMORY OF LIZ IRWIN OF MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 15, 2012

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
memory of Liz Irwin, one of the Mendocino Coast's most outstanding 
community leaders, who passed away October 23, 2012, leaving an 
enduring legacy in the fields of rural health care and the needs of 
senior citizens.
  Born on September 5, 1919 in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, Liz grew up 
in South Dakota, went to Minnesota State College and then to Colorado 
State College of Education, where she met her husband of 70 years, 
Horace ``Ace'' Irwin. The couple moved to southern California where Ms. 
Irwin received a master's degree in speech at California State 
University Northridge.
  Liz was a teacher in Northridge and Long Beach before she and Ace 
retired to the Mendocino Coast in 1971. She immediately became an 
inspirational and dynamic force for change and social justice in this 
rural coastal community, always with a twinkle in her eyes. Over the 
years she tackled tough issues, serving as the director of the Bea 
Erikson Senior Center for seven years to ensure seniors received the 
services they needed. She was also on the Mendocino Coast District 
Hospital Board of Directors. One of her crowing achievements was the 
initiation of Health Watch, a group that persuaded the County Board of 
Supervisors to maintain health care on the coast by creating the 
Mendocino Coast Clinics, where she was the first Chair of the Board of 
Directors, continuing until 2004.
  Liz motivated others with her sense of humor and radical, feminist 
spirit as she participated in the Gray Panthers, the ``Do-Gooders'' 
annual holiday luncheon benefitting the local food banks and Old Broads 
for Peace. Many on the coast remember Liz for the many years she 
authored her inspirational ``Coasting'' column in the Mendocino Beacon 
and her childhood reminiscences in her book, ``Home of the Heart.'' Liz 
loved her small town upbringing in South Dakota and told her family she 
never felt entirely at home again until she moved to the Mendocino 
Coast.
  The Mendocino community showed its love and respect for Liz by 
honoring her as Grand Marshal in both the Mendocino Fourth of July and 
the Fort Bragg Paul Bunyan Days Parades.
  She is survived by Ace, whom she referred to as the ``joint tenant'' 
in her newspaper columns, by her children, Bill Irwin, an actor based 
in New York, his wife Martha Roth, Patrick Irwin in Montreal and Nan 
Irwin, also living in New York, as well as two grandsons.
  Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in recognizing and paying 
tribute to a friend, outstanding community member and role model, Liz 
Irwin.

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