Jeanne Esther Minugh Irving

Jeanne Irving passed away in Everett on Saturday, December 7, 2013. Jeanne was born in Harlem, Montana, on March 29, 1923, to Asenath and James Minugh. She was a registered member of the Gros Ventre Tribe of Ft. Belknap, Montana.

Jeanne graduated from Harlem High School in 1941. She attended North Montana College before she moved to Pasco, WA, to attend Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital School of Nursing where she graduated in 1944 as a Registered Nurse. She joined the US Army Nurse Corps in 1945 earning the rank of Second Lieutenant. At her discharge she received an American Campaign Medal and a WWII Victory Medal. She soloed in a Taylorcraft Plane to earn her pilot’s license in Brigham City, UT, in 1946. In 1946, she returned to Montana to continue her college education. This is where she met Clyde and they married the same year. They moved to Washington where Jeanne received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Seattle University in 1949. Jeanne started working for Everett Community College in 1950 where she developed and implemented the Practical College Nursing Program. While working full-time at ECC, she continued to go to school part-time and received her Master’s in Nursing from the University of Washington in 1961. In 1962, Jeanne developed and started the Registered Nursing Program at ECC. She was the Director of Allied Health for Community College District 5, which included Edmonds, Everett, Skagit, and Whatcom Community Colleges. She was a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Nurses Honorary and a member of the American Nurses Association. She served as the President of the Snohomish County Nurses Association and President of Washington State Nurses Association. Jeanne received fellowships for Berkley and Stanford Universities. Jeanne retired from ECC in 1978 and received the ECC School of Nursing Distinguished Service Award in 2000. After retirement, she and Clyde traveled extensively enabling them to visit 59 countries, attend 40 Elderhostels and go on many cruises. During this time they were members of the Wally Byam Caravan Club and resided the Washington Land Yacht Harbor in Lacey. Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Clyde, and her brother Richard. Jeanne is survived by her children Dennis Irving of Bothell, WA; Jill Schwartz (Stan) of Reardan, WA; Kim Roberts (Blain) of Aberdeen, WA; daughter-in-law Linda Irving of Lake Stevens, WA; seven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and her brother, Thomas Minugh of Bellevue, WA. Jeanne was buried in a private ceremony next to Clyde at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent. The family asks that remembrances in lieu of flowers be made to: Virginia Mason Foundation, Organ Transplant Patient Fund, PO Box 1930, Seattle, WA 98111 or the Washington State 4-H Foundation, 7612 Pioneer Way, Puyallup, WA 98371 Seattle University, School of Nursing Scholarship Fund. Arrangements are being held under the direction of Evergreen Funeral Home, 4504 Broadway in Everett, WA 98203.