Community remembers the life of UHV alumnus Anthony “AJ” Irwin
Positive. Creative. Strongheaded. Believer.
Take those descriptors, personify them and you would find the late Anthony Irwin, a University of Houston-Victoria alumnus who passed away in February at the age of 37 after a battle with cancer.
Irwin was known in the community as a beloved coach, mentor and friend whose infectious positivity and dedication left an ineffaceable mark on all who knew him.
He was otherwise known as “AJ” or “coach,” through his work at Gonzales High School and Burnet High School, and through the countless students and athletes he pushed to reach their full potential on and off the court.
But most of all, he will be remembered as a good man; a man who strived to look for the best in other people in the darkest of situations, said his wife, Crissy Canales.
“He was such a great, positive person,” the Harwood resident said. “He always made everything feel like it was going to be OK, even if it wasn’t. He just knew the right things to say, no matter what, and he was such a humble individual.”
Born on May 3, 1987, in Galveston, Irwin received his Bachelor of Science in education from UHV in 2014. He later went on to earn a master’s degree in education from North Central University in 2019. During his time at UHV, Irwin was a standout student, earning a spot in the university’s prestigious honors program, Canales said.
It was a chance encounter on the basketball court that brought Canales and Irwin together. As a freshman at Victoria College, Canales was asked to take part in the school’s intramural basketball team, unaware that her future husband was a junior at UHV. The two were introduced during a game, and everything just seemed to click. During those games and practices, the team would gather at Dairy Queen to hang out, Canales recalled. One night, however, Canales said Irwin invited her to Jason’s Deli instead, and the rest was history.
The two began dating, and for the next year and a half, the couple navigated the challenges of a long-distance relationship as Irwin took a post working at Gonzales High School and Canales moved to San Marcos. Though they parted ways temporarily, the connection they shared never truly faded.
“When we met each other again after that year and a half, it was like we hadn’t missed a beat,” Canales said. “We were talking and talking like we had never been apart.”
In 2017, Canales reached out to Irwin after learning of his mother’s passing, and the two met up at a local burger restaurant. Within five months, Canales and Irwin moved in together, and the couple’s bond only grew stronger, she said. In 2024, the two married.
“He was just everything everybody wasn’t; he always wanted me to do what I loved – it didn’t matter what it was,” Canales said. “He always pushed me to do what I love to do, and I did the same with him.”
Over the course of his life, Irwin was known as a passionate follower of sports, made evident with the wide range of sports he coached over the years which included: basketball, track and field, baseball, football and softball, his wife said.
After he graduated from UHV, Irwin embarked on his coaching career to inspire the next generation. It was his versatility and adaptability that allowed him to make a lasting impact on the lives of young athletes, Canales said. He coached at Gonzales High School from 2015 to 2019 and then went on to coach at Burnet High School from 2019 until 2023, where he served as an assistant basketball coach.
Roy Kiser, the head boys’ basketball coach at Burnet High School, fondly remembers the impact Irwin had on the team and coaching staff.
“I loved his energy. I loved his age – he was closer to the kids than I am, and I knew that was going to be a big plus, that he would really be able to connect with them,” Kiser said. “You just have a feeling about people when you meet them; I just had a feeling about him and the way it turned out, he loved the kids and was able to connect with them.”
The connection Irwin made with the student athletes not only applied to the basketball court, but also in their lives. Irwin would serve as a listener and counselor for students who were going through difficult times, Kiser recounted.
Irwin’s legacy will live on through a scholarship fund established in his honor called the AJ Irwin Memorial Scholarship. The Burnet High School administration has set up the fundraiser with a goal to reach a certain threshold that will allow the school to offer an annual scholarship to a graduating senior, Kiser said.
“His passion for kids is a legacy that will last a long time and through this scholarship he will impact future generations,” Kiser said.
The first award will be given this May, and the fundraiser to create the endowed scholarship will be through the Hill Country Community Foundation. For more information on the fundraiser and how to donate, please contact Amy Koenig at akoenig@burnetcisd.net.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.