Irene E. (Frechette) King, 102, well-known quilter in New England, passed away March 23, 2020 from natural causes. She was in the company of her daughter in Chatham, MA. Irene was the daughter of Elizabeth and Albert Frechette of Newton, MA and graduate from St. John the Evangalist. She is survived by her sister Constance York and was pre-deceased by sister Beatrice Biron, and brothers Clement, Martial, Albert, Bernard, Denis, and Normand Frechette. Irene was married to George King, Jr. for 53 years. Irene was the mother of George King III of CT, Elizabeth (Betsey) Strum of Brewster, MA, Gregory A. King of NH and the late Michael J. King. She is a grandmother of 9, great grandmother of 14, great great grandmother of one and aunt to dozens of nieces and nephews. Education was important to Irene and she guided all of her children into college educations, an opportunity she wished she had experienced. She was proud of all four of her children in their musical endeavors and when asked if she was musical would say “Someone has to be the audience!” Irene was always talented with fabric. Her first business was called “The Bridal Vale” in Walpole where she custom designed and created bridal and formal gowns. When she moved to Wolfeboro, NH from Mattapoisett, she became involved with quilting and became one of the founding members of the New England Quilters’ Museum. When Irene re-located to Newport, RI at 67 she and a partner opened the shop,”The Quilt Artisan” where she taught many classes and shared her strong and creative skills in hand quilting. Even in retirement at New Horizons in Marlborough, Irene led a quilt group that made quilts to raffle off and donated the proceeds to local charities which helped seniors. Irene moved to Cape Cod in 2015 when her daughter and son-in-law retired there. She was soon a guest speaker at age 98 at the Cape Cod Quilter where they made her an honorary member and further honored her with Irene’s third 100th birthday celebration. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Irene’s name to the New England Quilt Museum, 18 Shattuck St, Lowell, MA 01852 An online memorial is available at Nickerson Funeral Home, Orleans, MA, please visit: www.nickersonfunerals.com. A private burial will take place on Thursday, March 26th in Newton, MA. The family is hoping to have a memorial service for family and friends in the future.
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