Dwight Wayne Irish

Dwight Wayne Irish, 79, of Albuquerque, passed away on Saturday, July 26, 2014. He is survived by his wife, Mary A. "Lovey" Irish; his Children, Jeffrey Wayne Irish, wife Frances, of Douglas, Wyoming, Dawn Marie Gentzler, husband Todd, of Sundance, Wyoming, Marcus Allen Irish, of Gillette, Wyoming, James Milton Irish, of Gillette, Wyoming, Mae Peterson, of Albuquerque, NM, and Deana A. Banos, of Edgewood, NM. He is also survived by his brother, Calvin Irish, of Miles City, Montana. He was grandfather to Justin Peterson, Joshua and Elena Irish, Kevin Irish, Monica and Jake Henrie, Steffany Irish, Daryl and Chrissy Neugebauer, Jenna and Dusty Thomas, Melissa and Kent Hatling, Leyah Irish, Cole Irish, Kalee Irish and Jacob Irish. Dwight also had 16 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his three brothers, Maurice, Norman and Kenneth. Dwight was always a cowboy at heart. He was born in Montana and raised in Wyoming. His favorite spectator sport was bull riding with bronc busting running a close second. One of his favorite vacation destinations was the PBR in Las Vegas. His other favorite vacation was his annual Navy reunion. Dwight did one four-year tour of duty on the USS Hunt DD-674, but the friends he made were life-long. He loved to see them every year at various locations around the U.S. He and Mary sponsored the annual reunion in Albuquerque in 2004 and they loved showing their friends around New Mexico. Dwight came to New Mexico initially as a long-haul truck driver, but eventually settled in to a factory job, building aircraft jet engines for GE. He retired from GE after 18 years and devoted himself full-time to his fishing, camping and wood-working. Dwight built beautiful furniture and small treasures, but his Lazy Susans were always his show-stopper. He eventually went back to work at the Manheim Auto Auction where he worked for another 9 years. In addition to his huge, loving family, Dwight leaves many, many friends. He will be laid to rest at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 9, 2014 at San Antonito Cemetery in San Antonito, NM. Friends and family are invited to a reception immediately following burial at Holy Child Catholic Parish in Tijeras, NM. In lieu of flowers, you may honor Dwight with a memorial gift to the University of New Mexico Cancer Research and Treatment Center, Attn: Justin Schroer, Director of Development, 1201 Camino de Salud NE Albuquerque, NM 87131, or contributions may be made online at unmfund.org.