Detchon - Irwin Lee
Source: Lafayette Journal and Courier Mon 4 July 1994 p 6
Crawfordsville – Irwin Lee Detchon, 93, an artist and Wabash College benefactor, died Saturday morning, July 2, at his home. In 1925, Mr. Detchon established advertising agencies in Miami and later New York City. He returned to Crawfordsville in 1940 to study painting with the late Fritz Schlemmer, a nationally respected artist. Mr. Detchon specialized in both oil and watercolor painting and was highly regarded for his work. His art has been displayed in the NY Historical Museum and Smithsonial galleries and the Springfield Museum of Art. His painting were exhibited a number of times in Indianapolis and Crawfordsville. His painting have been given to Wabash College and will be permanently displayed in the new Detchon Center for Modern Languages and International Studies, a facility that Mr. Detchon made possible with a gift to Wabash College in 1993 on the 70th anniversary of his graduation. Born July 13, 1900, he was a descendant of one of Crawfordsville’s early settlers. He graduated from Crawfordsville HS in 1919 and Wabash College in 1923. Mr. Detchon was a member of First United Methodist Church, Beta Theta Pi social fraternity and a member and past president of the Indiana Artists Club. His wife, Mary Hannah Peterson Detchon is deceased. He is survived by a companion, Ethel L. DeShong of Crawfordsville with whom he lived. - kbz