David Bruce Irons

East Lyme - David Bruce Irons passed away on Feb. 27, 2013.

Born Aug. 28,1946, the son of Frederick and Mary (Hargreaves) Irons (both deceased), David was raised in Waterford and graduated from Waterford High School in 1964. He joined the U.S. Army in 1965 and served with the 4th Battalion 60th Artillery in Vietnam during most of 1967.

David then returned to Waterford and married the former Louise Kelsey of Waterford and lived in Niantic.

He is survived by their son, Douglas Irons of Texas and fiancée, Christine Cross, his children, Felicia, Dominick, and Nicholas; and by a daughter, Annette Virgil of Idaho and her husband, Lynn, and their daughters, Danielle and Corey; and his great-granddaughter.

In 1997, he married his wife, Maura, and in addition to his wife Maura, he is survived by his stepsons, John McCool of Pennsylvania and his wife, Marie, and their children, Aine, James and Claire; Rory McCool of Florida and his fiancée, Kate Haggis; and Daniel McCool of Milford and his daughter, Kylie. He is also survived by a brother, Donald of Waterford and his wife, Anna, and their children, Mark and Rosemary, and a brother, Richard "Whitey" of Montville and his wife, Karen.

After his military service, David worked in sales for C.S. Mersick Steel in Waterford and as a purchasing agent for Morrisson-Knudsen Engineering Co., in New London and in Seabrook, N.H., and for Stone & Webster Engineering at Millstone 3 in Waterford.

He re-enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1972 and accepted a full-time civil service position with the Guard in 1986, retiring from both upon his 60th birthday in 2006, with over 37 years military service and 20 years civil service. He was assigned to C Company 280th Signal Battalion in Niantic until 1993 and then to the 1109th TASMG (AVCRAD) in Groton. He so enjoyed his service with the Guard and with everyone he worked, so after retiring he accepted a position as a civilian Army contractor at the TASMG (AVCRAD) performing the same duties he had performed prior to retiring.

David was an accomplished craftsman designing and creating many fine woodworking projects. In his earlier years, he was an avid outdoorsman, enjoying hunting, fishing, trapping, and swimming in the Niantic River. He also loved baking, especially when he would bake for the family for the holidays and make many of his own creations of cookies, pastries, and pies. David had many strong opinions and often expressed them, not only in conversation but through many, many letters to the editor and comments on different news articles over the years. For a brief period, he was given space in The Day for his own opinion column. He also wrote many press releases for newspapers as a military public affairs officer for the AVCRAD. Over the years, many people who met him would immediately recognize the name from his writings in The Day.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday at the Thomas L. Neilan & Sons East Lyme Funeral Home, 48 Grand St., Niantic, followed by a memorial service starting at 5 p.m. Interment will be private in the Connecticut Veterans Cemetery, Middletown.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project, PO BOX 758517, Topeka, KS 66675.

www.neilanfuneralhome.com