Denzil Ireton, 59, of Clinton died Aug. 16, 2007, at Whidbey General Hospital.

His girlfriend Kay-ce said he was too tired to fight any longer. He gave her his love and said “Sorry, see ya later, bye.” Kay-ce had also been Denzil’s full-time companion and caretaker as he battled the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) that finally took him Thursday.

Denzil was born Dec. 18, 1947, in Twin Falls, Idaho.

He moved to Seattle with his family in 1961 and did his high school stretch in Bothell. Afterward, he found his calling in hair design and graduated from the academy to become licensed by Paul Morey Studios, with additional credits in the techniques of such artists as Renons and Vidal Sassoon.

Denzil excelled in quick cuts, long hair styling, permanents, extensions and coloring. He loved to compete — achieving recognition and winning often enough to become a thorn in the side of such artists as his well-known contemporary, Gene Juarez. He participated in national and international competitions, with recognition for original hair design presentations in major exhibitions, winning first place seven times in the state of Washington’s NHCA Quick Service competition. He also received first place in braiding and second place in Fantasy Hair Design in Washington State UFCW competitions.

He participated in and helped organize specialty shows with international representation from noted studios, including Horst of Austria, Jingles of London and David Marshall of Dublin, Ireland. He was the first person to introduce synthetic nails to the state of Washington.

His hobbies were anything and everything. Hang-gliding, skydiving, skiing, golfing (winner of many “Best Dressed” awards at the Silver Swan golf tournament) — all of course without practice or preparation — where’s the fun in that! Denzil was up for it all, and especially road trips.

He was an active member of Salmon Bay Eagles No. 2141 and later frequented the Whidbey Island Eagles Aerie 3418, after moving to Whidbey in 2003.

He was a Master Mason of the Occidental Lodge in Ballard and a Shriner.

Denzil is survived by his life partner, Kathleen Claire (Kay-ce) Taylor; his brothers Frank Ireton and Michael Ireton; his daughters Ann, Grace and Chanelle; his grandson Matthew, as well as his large extended family and many, many friends.

A celebration of life and wake will be held at the Salmon Bay Eagles Aerie 2141 beginning at

4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 2. Come one, come all to the Eagles for great music by his artist friends as we sing the blues for Denzil and commemorate his life and the fun we had with him. The Aerie is located at 5216 20th Ave. NW, Seattle, WA, 98107. The phone number is 206-783-7791.

In lieu of flowers and other considerations, donations to the Denzil Ireton Memorial Fund, care of Salmon Bay Eagles will be gratefully accepted to defray expenses for his family.