FENNVILLE, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – A pioneer at Hope College has died.
Officials with the Holland-based school announced on Friday, April 9, 2021, the death of Anne E. Irwin, the first director of women’s athletics at Hope, from the effects of cancer at the age of 79.
During her tenure, from 1976 to her retirement in 2003, she created 10 interscholastic women’s teams, with participation growing to three fold in that span. Dr. Irwin was also the head coach of the Flying Dutch in basketball, softball and field hockey. She also developed Hope’s intramural sports program to the point that about half of the student body were participating when she stepped down.
As a professor of kinesiology, Dr. Irwin taught various upper-level courses in the department. After her retirement, she stayed connected to the school as a teacher for a time, and a bus driver for 12 years.
According to a school statement, “It was her wish to be cremated and interred at the Fennville Cemetery without a memorial or funeral service.”
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