About the owners Kathy & Pat Irwin
Pat Irwin, son of Louise (Prince) Irwin & grandson of Irene (Hawkins) Prince grew up in Sewanee, attended Sewanee Elementary, Franklin County Highschool and graduated from The University of the South in1991.
In 2000 Pat met Kathy Sarns (Artist & Adventurer) when he was in Alaska on a 350 mile winter bike race on the Iditarod trail & they married in 2001 eventually making Homer, Alaska their home.
In 2023, after acquiring Louise Irwin’s family home and after making renovations on this Historic home, Kathy & Pat plan to live in Alaska for spring, summer, fall and then return to Sewanee for the winters. They love Sewanee, the amazing trails and being close to family.
Coming Full Circle
Over the years, Kathy & Pat would visit Pat’s Mom Louise at her family Hawkins Home in Sewanee whenever they could.
Sadly Louise Irwin passed away in 2023 and is greatly missed by this community where she was known as the “unofficial mayor” of Sewanee and played “Santa Claus” for 50 years! She was a ray of sunshine always offering a helping hand wherever she went.
One thing led to another and instead of selling Louise’s home, Kathy & Pat decided to take ownership of her Historic Hawkins House as well as taking on the daunting task of remodeling and restoring it.
Pat has had MS since 2003 and they decided it would be nice to be closer to family for part of the year and also have Sewanee as a long term plan if needed.
Pat (and Kathy by marriage) are now 3rd generation (directly related to Hawkins) to own the Historic Hawkins House.
if you’re not bored yet.. :)
More about Pat & Kathy
Since 2003 they have been owners of Free Spirit Bike Jerseys. Kathy designs bright beautiful cycling jerseys and jackets and they sell them online. Since Pats’ diagnosis with MS it’s been nice to have everything online to keep stress and costs down.
Pat helps Woody out at Woody’s Bike shop in Sewanee when he's able. In Homer he is on the running club board and the cycling club board. He rides a 1 or 2 mile loop everyday on his bike. Less distance than his ultra professional cycling days-but so very grateful that he still can ride!
In Alaska, Kathy is President of the Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park and helps design and clear trails in the remote Park. She really appreciates and loves the AMAZING trails here in Sewanee! For 40 years she's been director of adult and kids cross-country ski programs. She enjoys long slow runs on beautiful trails and Sewanee offers miles of that right out their door!
Sewanee has a similar vibe as Homer, Alaska, just with no ocean, bears or moose and there are signs at trail intersections here, so it's harder to get lost. 🙂