George Richardson "Richie" Irvine Jr.

George Richardson "Richie" Irvine, Jr. passed peacefully from this life at his home in the early morning hours of January 17, 2024. He was born on November 16, 1932, at the newly opened Allen Memorial Home to Lucille Starke Irvine and George R. Irvine, Sr., both of whom preceded him in death. Richie packed an enormous amount of life into his 91 years. A consummate storyteller, he recounted with delight tales of exploits with his gang of childhood friends on Hunter Avenue in downtown Mobile. Equally prominent in his stories was a boyhood spent on Mobile Bay in Point Clear. He often told of being sent out with his cousin to catch whatever his grandmother, Cecile Starke, wanted to serve for dinner when the bay was teeming with speckled trout and redfish. Those days were the foundation for a lifetime of hunting, fishing, boating and a love of the outdoors. In 1979 he won the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo after he caught a record-setting Broadbill Swordfish which still hangs in the clubhouse at the Mobile Big Game Fishing Club in Orange Beach. He taught all of his grandchildren to fish and to drive a boat, and to hold on tightly when Richie was the one driving the boat.

Richie graduated from McGill Institute in 1950. He attended the University of Alabama where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and where he met his future wife and the mother of his children, Anne Carter. After graduating with a BS in Commerce and Business Administration in 1954, he joined the Signal Corps in the US Army. This was during the time of the Korean War, but he remained stateside. He recalled that time of his life as a happy one. Stationed in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, he took frequent leave to Vermont where he learned to snow ski and earned tips telling tall tales to "yankees" in his Alabama accent. Upon his return to Mobile he went to work at Cowan-Irvine Co., Inc. and, after the untimely death of his father, then worked for Riley Smith Inc. There, he learned the ropes of the real estate business and was tasked with entertaining customers on hunting and fishing trips, a role that came naturally to him. He started his own company, Irvine and Co., Inc. and became a successful land developer. He developed many tree-lined local neighborhoods and subdivisions in both Baldwin and Mobile Counties including Llanfair, Ridgefield and Point Clear Landing, to name but a few. He served as president of the Home Builders Association of Mobile in 1965. Richie was an integral member of several mystic organizations and enjoyed the festivities well into his 80s. He was also a member of the Athelstan Club for nearly 70 years and ate lunch there daily with a cadre of cohorts.

Richie was most proud of his three children and six grandchildren. He is survived by his son, George Richardson Irvine, III (Sallye), and their children Isabel Starke Irvine, George Richardson Irvine, IV, Phineas English Irvine, and Sullivan Tate Irvine; daughter Carson Irvine Nicolson (David) and their children William Berney Caine Nicolson and Cecile Grant Nicolson; and daughter Cecile "Celia" Irvine Bradshaw (Robert). He was predeceased by his beloved sister Julie Irvine Brinson (Edward); and is survived by his devoted brothers Jared "Jerry" Starke Irvine (Carol) of Bethesda, MD, and Samuel Oliver Starke Irvine (Anne) of Daphne, AL, and many cousins, nieces, nephews and extended family whom he loved very much.

Special thanks are given to his dedicated caregivers, especially Tekisha Presley and Andrea Brown, both of whom adored him and provided excellent care.

There will be a private service for family and close friends at Pinecrest Chapel on Monday, January 29, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. followed by a celebration of life at The Athelstan Club at 2:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust, the South Alabama Land Trust, Mobile Baykeeper, or the charity of your choice.