Irwin Taylor Sanders II departed this life on Aug. 17, 2024, in Danville, Ky. He was 81 years old.

A 1965 graduate of CentreCollege, Sanders earned his MA and PhD in history from the University of Virginia. He joined the faculty of Washington and Lee University in 1969, served as university historian, and taught a wide range of courses in ancient, medieval, British, and American history. Sanders taught at Washington and Lee for more than 40 years. He also wrote numerous papers and articles, six monographs, two books, and contributed to a half-dozen others.

Sanders was the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati’s Distinguished George Washington Scholar, was a National Council Fellow at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and served on the citizen’s advisory committee of the Virginia legislative commission for the commemoration of the War of 1812. He was a past member and chairman of the Lexington Planning Commission and its Board of Zoning Appeals. He was a veteran steward for eventing competitions at the VirginiaHorse Center. An elder at Lexington Presbyterian Church, he served on Presbytery committees, including the Shenandoah Presbytery’s history committee. He was a member of the Jamestown Society, the General Society of the War of 1812, and the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Maryland.

Upon his retirement, he and his wife, Barbara Wilson Sanders, moved to Danville, Ky.

Sanders was preceded in death by his wife. 

Survivors include a sister, Jessica Sanders Jones (Addison) of Richmond; son Wallace Bruce Sanders (Catherine) of Bentonville, Ark.; son Stuart Wilson Sanders (Jenny) of Danville, Ky.; and five grandchildren.

Burial will be at CaveHill Cemetery in Louisville, Ky. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Heritage Hospice of Danville, Ky. (heritagehospice.com).