Memorial Service for Tommy Irvin Set for Tuesday in Atlanta

A memorial service will be held Tuesday in Atlanta for former Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin.

Irvin, who was longest-serving constitutional officer in Georgia, died last Thursday after a long battle with Parkinsons Disease.

He was 88.

Irvin was laid to rest Sunday in Mt. Airy, Georgia.

Commissioner Irvin elected and then re-elected ten times to the post of Georgia Agriculture Commissioner, serving from 1969 until his retirement in 2011.

He holds the nation’s record as the longest serving Agriculture Commissioner.

Current Agriculture Commission Gary Black said in a statement Friday Irvin’s commitment to education and agriculture put a strong and admirable exclamation point on his life’s work.

Black noted Irvin loved serving Georgia’s farmers and consumers and touched everyone with his unsurpassed spirit of stewardship, commitment and work ethic.

Tuesday’s memorial service will be held at 11a at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to a charity of your choice, or to the Georgia Masonic Home for Children in Macon.