John Irving

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Commander John Irving, Ret., 79, of Louisburg, Kansas, passed away on Friday, August 2, 2024.

He was born on February 20, 1945 in Jersey City, New Jersey to Harold and Elvira (Lisi) Irving. The family moved to Waldwick NJ where John attended Midland Park High School from 1958 to 1962. It was during his years in high school that he developed what became a lifelong interest in science. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Parsons College followed by a Master of Science in Chemistry from Bucknell University in 1969.

While at Bucknell he met Karen (Crane) Irving. They were married in Cooperstown, NY in August of 1969. He enlisted in the Navy that same year. The couple subsequently moved with the Navy to Jacksonville, FL where they had their son, Brian Irving, Sagamihara, Japan where they had their daughter, Shelly (Irving) Johnson, Norfolk, VA and Washington, DC. John retired from the Navy in 1989 and continued working in the private sector.

In 1998, John met Leni while working at Psychemedics Corporation, a hair testing laboratory in Culver City, CA. They were married on September 24, 2000 at the Belagio Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The couple settled in Louisburg Kansas in 2005.

Professionally, John had over 48 years of experience in the field of military and civilian workplace drug testing. In 1971, he helped establish the first Navy drug testing laboratory in San Diego and went on to run three other Navy laboratories. With the start of the military’s “War on Drugs” in the early 1980’s, he became the technical consultant for the standardization of the Navy’s five laboratories. While assigned to the Navy’s Medical Headquarters in Washington, D.C., he helped develop the standard operating procedures for the Navy, including drug cutoffs, use of chain of custody, and the concept of certification of results. He conducted quarterly inspections of all five Navy laboratories and oversaw the conversion of the Navy’s confirmation testing from GC to GC-MS. John served as the Navy’s representative for the Tri-Service meeting and was the Navy’s representative for all White House drug testing meetings. He served as the military member on the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) committee to establish standards for workplace drug testing. With the publication of President Reagan’s 1986 Executive Order, he was assigned as the technical member of the NIDA office overseeing the development of the initial Drug Testing Guidelines and the publication of the Specimen Collection Handbook, Medical Review Officer Manual, and Laboratory Inspection Checklist and Guidance Document. He oversaw the inspection and certification of the initial laboratories in the federal program. After retiring from the Navy, he managed numerous civilian drug testing laboratories, including urine, oral fluid, and hair as the tested matrix. He has been the co-author on numerous papers in the field. John was currently an inspector for the National Laboratory Certification Program (NLCP) and served as an independent consultant.

In addition to his work life, John was an active member of the many communities in which he lived, serving on local club boards and coaching his children’s youth sports teams. He enjoyed many activities throughout his life including photography, fishing, model railroading, bonsai, tennis, and listening to a variety of musical genres ranging from classical to oldies to acoustic guitar and new age.

John is survived by his wife, Leni Irving, brother, Russell Irving, former wife, Karen Irving and their two children, Brian Irving and Shelly Johnson. He was the proud grandpa to six grandchildren.

The family will receive guests for a visitation from 9:00-11:00am on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at Penwell-Gabel's Olathe Chapel with the funeral service at 11:00am, a reception will follow.


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