Nate Irwin was born in Gregory, Arkansas on 8 August 1936, the 7th of 10 children. As a child he picked cotton until the family moved to Oregon when he was 14. He went into the Navy at 19 with his brother Jack. At 20 he married Nancy Edwards whom he met while stationed in Washington State. They had 3 children during their marriage and he had a 23 year career in the US Coast Guard. After retiring from the Guard, where he was an amazing helicopter mechanic and sling man on search and rescue, he learned to fly helicopters and worked many more years in Alaska on the oil rigs. In 1981 he flew chopper for the John Carpenter film, remake of "The Thing" where he also had a credited acting role. He was very proud of this work, as is his family.Nate died on October 22, 2007.