Baker City, Oregon
G. Irvin “Irv” Mahugh, 73, of Baker City, died Sept. 18, 2006, at his home.
His celebration of life will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Haines United Methodist Church.
Irv was born on May 7, 1933, at Glasgow, Mont., to Arley and Mary Mahugh. He was the third of six children.
During his youth, he developed a love for model airplanes, which led him to a hobby and career in aviation.
He received his solo pilot’s license at the age of 16 at Fort Peck, Mont. During high school he was active in the Civil Air Patrol. He went on to Aircraft and Engineer Mechanics School at Helena, Mont. He then spent four years in the U.S. Air Force where he met and married his wife, Florance.
Upon discharge from the service, he enrolled in the mechanical engineering program at Montana State College at Bozeman, Mont. His employment took him and his family from the East Coast to the West Coast. He worked for various aircraft engineering companies, ending with Boeing at Seattle, Wash.
He was a flight-test engineer on the first 737. In the early 1970s, his position was eliminated in the big employment reduction at Boeing. One of his favorite sayings for that time was “Would the last one out of Seattle, please turn out the lights?”
His final employment led him to Baker City where he worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a civil engineer. One phase of his job was designing and inspecting road and trail bridges in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
He often said, “I do for a living what most people do for a vacation.” He retired at an early age and enjoyed many years of traveling, flying his Bonanza and his home-built Ramsey flying bathtub, hunting, playing the harmonica and visiting with friends and family.
Survivors include his wife of more than 50 years, Florance; his children and their spouses, Debbie and Pat Lantz of Anchorage, Alaska, Margie and Steve Fulton of Pendleton, Janice Mahugh of Baker City, Alice and Bill Durflinger of Baker City and Jim and Beth Mahugh of Selah, Wash.; six grandchildren, Jackie Fulton, Jon Fulton, Beth Durflinger, Justin Durflinger, Jacob Mahugh and Lucas Mahugh; his sister, Lorna Gaither; and brothers, Vernon and Lowell Mahugh.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Haines United Methodist Church or Pathway Hospice through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, September 20, 2006
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor