Irvin Sevin, the son of Esther and Louis, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 17th October 1921. (Louis Sevin was the son of Rav Mordechai, a Lubavitch Chassid rabbi in Chicago for many years,)
From the age of 12 Irvin Sevin was active in the Habonim Zionist movement.
He completed his studies in both elementary and high schools, and in 1943 he finished his studies at the Beit Hamidrash Herzl.
In the same year he was mobilized into the US Military, serving in a radar unit for over two years on the European battlefront.
After his discharge, he spent eight months preparing for Aliyah at a Habonim farm at Criss-Ridge in the state of New Jersey, where he met his future wife and married her. In September 1947 the couple arrived in Israel and made their home on Kibbutz Ma’ayan Baruch. While he was on the farm, Irvin had been interested in fine arts and the humanities, as well as his fellow men. The people he now met did not share these interests, and he recalled the sincerity of his colleagues at the farm, their love for their fellow men, their courtesy, their consideration towards others, and their constant quest for personal happiness and a good life. The life he now led did not fulfill his aspirations, but he suffered in silence. His criticism was always quiet and careful, yet sharp, and with fine wit and a gentle viewpoint.
Shortly after the couple’s arrival, the War of Independence broke out. At the time, Irvin was working as a truck driver on the kibbutz. He was mobilized into a Haganah transport unit, carrying arms and ammunition to the IDF. While performing his duty, he was killed on 9th June 1948 when his truck overturned on the dangerous winding road from Safed to Rosh Pina. He was survived by his widow, and a daughter who was born five months after his death and named Israela after him.
He was buried at the Tel Chai cemetery.
His name is recorded in the book “Al Mavet” (About Death), published by Kibbutz Ma’ayan Baruch in memory of their Fallen.
Source: Translated from the Yizkor website by Joe Woolf