Daniel H. Irvine

Daniel Henry Irvine, 60, of Palm Springs, CA, died in St. Paul, MN on September 27, 2012 after a short battle with cancer throughout which he courageously refused to abandon hope. A memorial service is planned for Saturday, October 6, at 2:00 p.m. in the Memorial Garden at the United Methodist Church in Detroit Lakes. Memorials may be sent to the Methodist Memorial Garden, "Tools for Tomorrow"; www.afterschooltools.org or to Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury, MN. Dan was born in Detroit Lakes, MN where he graduated from high school in 1969 after a distinguished academic and athletic career (football, basketball and golf). Following graduation, Dan became something of a connoisseur of colleges, attending 7 of them. He earned a BA from Cornell College (Mount Vernon, Iowa) and an MA in Fine Arts from University of Montana-Bozeman. After experimenting with various artistic mediums (pottery and painting among them), Dan became a graphic artist. He lived in San Francisco, doing graphic layout work for newspapers and other publications, all the while working on his own art in his free time. He would happily have been a life-long resident of San Francisco were it not for the earthquake of 1989 which shook him, and the city he loved, to his/its foundations. When an opportunity arose for him to move to Palm Springs, he took it. In Palm Springs Dan became an avid golfer and the Creative Director of the publication, Season in the Sun, until the worsening economy forced its closure. Dan then worked as a free lance graphic artist doing lay-out and design work for real estate firms and advertising companies while continuing to produce his own unique works of art. Recognition came slowly but in the last years of his life his work was displayed in several prestigious galleries in Palm Springs and Los Angeles. He developed a following among some contemporary art collectors in Chicago. Dan's work (www.danirvine.me) is striking, provocative and generally serious but those who know and love him recognize his underlying sense of humor. Dan spent much of his time in Palm Springs caring for others, humans and animals alike. He will be remembered by them as the quintessential caregiver. Even as he became ill, his thoughts were always about those who depended on his help. Dan was preceded in death by his father, Robert W. Irvine but survived by his many friends, his mother, Eloise Irvine, his older brothers, Patrick (Mary Louise) and Peter (Tricia) and his younger sister, Sally Irvine (David) Hagman, his nieces and nephews, Brian (Kate) and Brendan (Sara) Irvine, Kelsey Irvine (Sean) McElroy, Casey Irvine, Tom Hagman, Maren Hagman, Amy Clark, Kathleen (Adam Murray) Clark, his grand-niece, Eloise, as well as his dog, Lazarus, so-named, with Dan's characteristic humor, because he saved its life after it had been hit by a car. Dan, who loved art, golf and warm weather, will be missed by all who loved him for his kindness, compassion, humanity and intelligent wit. Oh, Danny Boy, "tis you must go and we must abide.