Well, this really sucks.

Renie once told me, "life sucks--you just have to revel in the suckiness."  Then, of course, she giggled.

Growing up, we Davis kids got to see a lot more of Renie, Karl, KD, and Joel.  Uncle Karl, KD, Joel--I loved going to your house.  Especially, as Jennifer said, the holidays.  There were always adventures, good food, love, and laughter.  The trips to Lassen were so much fun, also.  I am so glad you had us come along, those times.

Renie was always so calm, mellow, generous, funny, silly, smart, good.

As the years went by, we saw each other less, but the love and hospitality and feeling of belonging were always there.  She was someone who always had her stuff together, and her very existence provided a calm in the storm for those of us who have had many storms to endure.  She was a lot like my grandma (her mom).  I know my mom (Renie's sister, Chrissy) is very upset about losing her, and that we didn't get to visit enough.  I'm glad we got to visit back in April 2024.  I'm glad Renie remembered my mom.  I'm glad they got to reminisce.  I wish we had been able to visit, more.

I miss you very much already, Aunt Renie.  The world already feels more hostile, ominous, scary, and empty, without you here.  I wish my fiancé could have met you.  I wish my kids could have spent more time with you. 

Rest in peace, Aunt Renie.  I hope to see you again someday.

Conny Pecoraro

Irene was a dear friend to me. We met about 50 years ago after she had posted a small note at Millbrae Nursery School looking for a ride for her son when she needed help to drive him to school. I responded and thereafter we learned that we lived only one block from each other! 

Little did either of us know that that little note would connect us and was the beginning of a friendship for the next 5 decades. Since that time we have grown a close friendship and remained friends over all these years. We both volunteered at Millbrae Nursery School when our children were little. Irene had a kindred spirit. And although we were in some ways very different people we got a long very well and always enjoyed each other.

Eventually Irene came up with the idea that we start an antiques business together. She was a devoted friend who was very interested in history. We always worked very well together. Initially we checked out many books from the library and read them and then we plunged into this new venture together. It was a serendipity and a pleasure to work with Irene for over 20 years. We learned together how to bid at auctions as well as revive antiques before putting them up for sale to the public. Irene deserves full credit for our business name ‘Past Tense’. In addition to knowing her as a friend, I also saw through our partnership how kind and fair Irene always was to all people, including customers …and even difficult people! She was also fun, joyful and very funny too!

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Conny Pecoraro (continued from first page)

Over the years we became closer friends and appreciated each other even more. We both were busy raising our children, but that commonality also brought us closer to understanding and appreciating each other too. To me, Irene was like a sister all these years and I could always count on her. When I had an unfortunate accident almost 20 years ago, Irene (along with her husband Karl) was a true and loyal friend who always checked in with me and was very kind and helpful. I will always remember her loyalty and kindness.

I also had the good fortune of enjoying many New Years Eve celebrations with Irene and Karl. It was always such fun to enjoy their company and to spend time together to start off each new year with them. More than anything, I am very grateful that I had Irene in my life and for so many years too. She was a wonderful and dear friend. And I miss her very much. When I think of her I always know that she has left me with many great memories that make me smile.

Conny Pecoraro

Ahh, my dear cousin...how I wish you hadn't moved so far away so that I only saw you once when we were both adults and I took my first "alone" trip to California.  But to me, you'll always be the older cousin I always looked up to, quite literally since I was 11 years younger than you,  when my mom Phyllis would pile my brothers John and James in the car and take us to the house on Claverack Road in Clifton.  Being the youngest girl, "the boys" would naturally want to hang out in the field together while I'd stand there feeling left out.  You'd come out and either just take my hand to lead me indoors or to go do something with your sister.  I was a whopping 5 years-old to your 19 and thought "I want to be grown up like my cousin Renie when I'm that old."  And a summer day when you walked all of us to the funny little store that was on another block, promising to chase away the dinosaurs Bobby and Johnny said lived in the field just so we could get ice cream (really it was to tell the boys to be nice or you wouldn't get them anything).  You never changed from that person I knew; I could tell when you were showing me your fuscia plants hanging on the fault line.  You'll be missed.  Carolyn

My wife and I enjoyed knowing Irene and Karl for over twenty years. Irene and I first met at SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) where we both worked in the Maintenance and Engineering Department for over twenty years.  Over many years we enjoyed weekend dinners together usually followed by marathon games of UNO. We also, enjoyed several camping trips in the Hat Creek area and at Lake Alpine. We have many fond memories of Irene and Karl are grateful for the times we shared.

Rich & Sharon Jones

I grew up knowing Irene ever since I was a young child. (Irene and my mother met over 50 years ago through volunteer work they did at Millbrae Nursery school for their children.  And they have always remained close friends ever since then). 

Irene was always a wonderful mother and very proud of her beautiful family. She was a devoted mother who adored her sons Karl David and Joel. She kept her focus on giving them all the love and support she could provide.  Through the years she expressed huge pride for each of their accomplishments. Irene had told me that she loves her daughters-in-laws as her own daughters. And each of her grandchildren were treasures to Irene too. 

Irene was a very caring person to people outside of her immediate family also. She often traveled back and forth to spend time with her mother and her sister. My mother and Irene were very close friends for over 50 years. During that time they spent at least a couple decades also working  together as a team by creating their own shared antique business in San Francisco. Irene coined their business name as ‘Past Tense’. It was a huge amount of work that they both jumped into and self taught themselves the ropes from bidding at antique auctions to learning about  antiques from different time periods, to doing the hard work of properly restoring numerous antique pieces which they placed up for retail sale. 

One of the best things I have always loved about Irene was that she was a natural at telling a story. She would  deliver a true story with honesty, but also a great dry sense of humor and her expressions,  gentle sarcasm and tone of voice were spot on. Even more so, she and her husband Karl truly were the perfect couple for telling a story together. They were always great fun together and could keep any listener on the edge of his/her seat and engaged.  

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The best thing about Irene (as well as her husband Karl) is that she was always a true and loyal friend. Irene was the type of person who kept her word and who could be counted on to follow through on whatever she said she would do.  She genuinely cared about others and her actions matched her words. She was as true a friend as any person could ever have.  She would always be there for her friends through thick and thin times.  I will always respect her. Her integrity was of the highest level of integrity.

Irene and Karl spent many New Years Eve’s with my mother and myself and my (at the time) young daughter. It never mattered that we were a small crowd. The age differences never mattered either. We all had good clean fun each time. Lots of joy, laughter, story telling, eating and celebrating together. We truly had the BEST times every NY Eve and loved spending time together starting off each new year  together with each others’ good company. We have certainly missed our annual celebratory get together since they moved to Colorado a few years ago. But time and distance has not changed how special and meaningful both Irene and Karl are to all of us.  
We have always felt close to Irene and Karl no matter the distance. 

I always thought we had so many more years ahead to see Irene again and all enjoy each others’ company again. Irene is and always will be very missed.   
More than anything, I feel very fortunate and grateful beyond words that I had Irene in my life, (and for most of my life). Despite time, I will always remember and respect the extraordinarily good and fun human being that Irene has always been and I will certainly always hold her deep in my heart and memories. 

Ashley Griffin-(Pecoraro)

I loved holidays because Irene would just giggle so much at the grandkids shenanigans. They would eat in the kitchen and be cracking jokes and cackling like loons. She would sit and listen, and just smile and giggle. It's wonderful to see somebody enjoy the simple joys of children as she did.

OBITUARY

Irene Flick

July 8, 1940 – September 1, 2025

Olinger Andrews Caldwell Gibson Chapel

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