General Charles C. Irions

Major General (Ret.) Charles C. Irions, 82, of St. Michaels, MD passed away on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at Easton Memorial Hospital, a victim of Pulmonary Fibrosis. Born in Princeton, IN on June 24, 1929, he was the son of the late, Charles C. Irions and Flora Ellen Woods Irions. Gen. Irions rose to his important jobs in the Air Force and Industry by an unusual means. He entered the Air Force directly after graduating from high school to attend college in a special program, going to college half a day, and working in his military duty half a day. He became the Air Force’s youngest Master Sergeant at the age of twenty-two. He then decided to make the Air Force his career. Graduating with honors from both Officer Candidate School and Air Force Pilot Training, he began an exciting flying and command career. Gen. Irions obtained degrees in Business from George Washington University and a MBA from Auburn University. While in the Air Force, he was a distinguished graduate of Squadron Officer School, Air Command, Staff College, and Air War College. Gen. Irions was a very active USAF pilot, flying large military transport aircraft all over the world. His overseas tours include pilot assignments in Munich, Germany; Paris, France; and commander and flight duties in Sao Paulo and Brasilia, Brazil; and Vietnam, but his workplace was every hot spot reported in the national news. He became a highly decorated command pilot in route to a series of high-level command positions: the airlift wings at Altus AFB OK, Travis AFB CA, and Scott AFB IL. He was the head of operations for the Joints Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon where he headed all forms of transportation for the Armed Forces. Although selected for promotion to Lt. General, Gen. Irions opted to take early retirement after thirty-three years of service and go into private industry as President of The American Moving and Storage Association in Washington, DC. He would spend eleven years in that position until retiring in 1992. He served on the Boards of Directors of numerous organizations, including The National Defense Transportation Association and The Indiana University School of Business. He was a life member of many fraternal organizations and enjoyed all of them. After retiring from industry, he was active in many community and church activities. He served several years as president of his community’s utilities cooperative, and was active in many capacities in St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in St. Michaels. Through his special efforts, a number of premier military musical organizations performed in the various venues in the Eastern Shore Community. Having a close-knit and loving family, Gen. Irions traveled yearly with the family throughout the United States and abroad. He was a skilled craftsman and an avid woodworker. He is survived by his wife of sixty years, Ethel Knox “Mickey” Irions of St. Michaels. Mrs. Irions says jokingly, “she moved thirty times all over the world because her husband couldn’t keep a job.”He is also survived by his daughter, Leslie Irions McKahan, an insurance broker in Orlando, FL, his son, Jonathan K. Irions, a chef in Estes Park, CO, and a granddaughter, Molly McKahan, a third year Pre-Med student at the University of North Florida. Gen. Irions was preceded in death by his sister, Aldine Irions Zimmerman and his brother Frank Irions. A memorial gathering will be held on Friday, February 3, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., 200 S. Harrison St., Easton, MD 21601. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 304 S. Talbot St., St. Michaels, MD. Interment will be private at the MD Eastern Shore Veteran’s Cemetery near Hurlock, MD. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in memory of Major General Charles C. Irions to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, PO Box 207, St. Michaels, MD 21663.

General Charles C. Irions

June 24, 1929 - January 28, 2012