Irvin Arthur Mowrey

Irvin Mowrey was born in Seattle, Washington in 1943 and moved with his family to Walla Walla WA. He began elementary school in Weiser, Idaho, then the family moved to Council, Idaho, spending summers on Horse Mountain Lookout overlooking Hells Canyon, where his dad was the fire lookout. High school began in Nampa, then a move to Boise High, and finally he finished at Weiser High School. Irv was a very talented musician and songwriter, playing the guitar in trios he organized in high school. He entered the U. S. Army in 1961 and served as a medic with the 5th Evac Hospital. After his service Irv spent several years enrolled at Arizona State University in Tempe AZ before moving to London, England. In London he joined the music scene, eventually ending up in Paris, France where he worked with Malcolm Watson and others, busking in the Paris Metro, playing his beloved Martin twelve-string. While in France he made several albums, Subway, Buskers and Continental Drift. Malcolm played on all of these albums, and Continental Drift also featured many of the musicians both Irv and Malcolm had worked with over the Paris years. When Irv's father died in 1980, he moved back to the states where he drove taxi in San Francisco, lived for a time in Fresno, and then worked on an astrology line in San Diego. It was in San Diego that he also began doing computer tech support, being the French tech for the game Final Fantasy, and others. He moved to LA for a time and then finally moved to Portland OR where he worked tech support for a Portland company based out of Quebec. Irv's fluency in French and his skill with computers gave him some good jobs. His musical abilities and unique personality made him many good friends over the years. Irv was a deeply spiritual person, though he was not a member of any organized religion. Meditation and reading helped him on his journey. Irvin Mowrey passed away on August 7, 2015 at the Vancouver VA facility in Vancouver, Washington. His family and friends, who spent some of his last days and hours with him, would like to especially thank B Wing of that facility and all the people who work there, who gave him such good care. They really had his back. Irv was preceded in death by his parents, Irvin Mowrey Sr. and Emily Coulter Mowrey, his grandparents, his aunt Elizabeth and uncle Gus. He is survived by his sister Liz Mowrey and brother-in-law Rick Goul, of Weiser, Idaho, his niece Anna Coulter Slade of Portland, and his cousin, Susan Haroian, and her children and grandchildren, of Washington. Irv has a younger brother, Edwin Coulter Mowrey, a Vietnam veteran who returned to the states, but who has been missing since 1971. Irv is beloved by many and he will be missed.