Constance Tena Irwin's Obituary
Constance (Connie) T. IrwinConnie was born June 17, 1912 in West Seattle of Nick and Josephine Charles. In her early years she moved to Lake Forest Park and later attended Roosevelt High School. After graduating from High School she moved to California where she worked in an office for three years. She returned to Seattle and became a licensed beautician with the intention of opening her own salon. Then she met her beloved Earl Irwin. He captivated her heart and they married soon after. They had two children, Mary Lou and Ron. In 1946 they moved from Seattle to Tacoma and opened the B&I shopping center. After EarlÂ's death in 1973, Connie was president of the company through 1995At one time the B&I had the largest parking lot in Pierce County, large enough to attract the Ringling Brothers Circus. After a successful run at the B&I the Ringling Brothers were going on a three week tour in Canada. Unfortunately for the Ringling Brothers, they could not bring three types of animals with them into Canada: llamas, cheetahs and camels. So they erected cyclone fences in the front of the store to keep the animals during the duration of the Canadian tour. Children came for miles to see the exotic animals and brought their parents. When the Ringling Brothers returned from Canada, the IrwinÂ's asked to purchase some young animals. Among the first were an elephant, cheetah, two lions and two chimpanzees. Ivan the Gorilla was one of the last additions to the exotic animals. In recognition of the children coming to see the animals, they purchased and installed the first permanent Merry Go Round, which is still in use today.Connie and her husband were the originators of entertainment retailing and welcomed many famous visitors such as the Cisco Kid, Joe Lewis, Max Baer, Sheena Queen of the Jungle, Burt Ward and the list goes on.She was an upstanding member of society and belonged to many organizations including the Lakewood Elks, Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, Lakewood Kiwanis and the Lakewood Women in Business for which she was a charter member.Connie was also a very talented artist. She loved painting and enjoyed sharing her talent with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She would often sit with her great-granddaughter for hours doing artwork. She is survived by her sister Antoinette Fiorito, son Ronald Irwin, daughter Mary Lou Borgert, grandchildren Tina, Chris, Earl, Brian and Tricia, great-grandchildren Natalie and Connor and many nieces, nephews and cousins that were all special to Connie. Connie loved life and all the people in it. She touched many of those who grew up with the B&I and throughout her life many people remarked how the B&I made their childhood and their lives all that much more special.Just like her art her life was full of color.
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