Irene Gonzalez

Born on April 5th, 1945, in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, she was the second child of Felipe & Maria de Jesus Gonzalez.

Irene is survived by her children:

Salvador (Lily) – Christian & Nicolas

Marco A. (Claudia) – Marco D. & Miriam

Francisco J. (Connie) – Javier, Jonathan, Francisco Jr., Sophia, Angel

Lisa (Joaquin) – Matthew

And by her Siblings:

Ricardo, Martha, Alfredo, Elias, Jose, Felipe, Enrique, Ramiro, Luis, Norma & Juan.

Since she was a little girl, she found her passion in beauty and self-expression and became a beautician. It is with great admiration we can say her clients were life-long and inevitably friends. Undisputedly, this was her passion, not only a means to make a living. She often worked 10 to 12-hour days (sometimes with no break for lunch) and many times worked on her days off when we were kids growing up (so we can look forward to a vacation and have new clothes for the new school year).

That was just one example of self-sacrifice as Irene endured so many throughout her life with the intent of seeing others happy.

It was her ability to see the beauty and potential in not only hair, but people.

She took on so much, many times by choice, because from her point of view, self-sacrifice was her way to show love in its purest and unconditional form with no limits.

It can easily be misinterpreted as weakness, to the contrary, she had to develop such strength to endure and commit to her self-sacrifice so that others can benefit. She wished others to be happy, what an unselfish way to live!

There is no coming to consciousness without pain – Carl Jung

Visitation will be held at Woodlawn Funeral Home, 7750 West Cermak Road, Forest Park, IL 60130, on Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Funeral service in the chapel 10am on Friday, June 26, 2026.

Interment will take place at Woodlawn Memorial Park, 7750 W Cermak Road, Forest Park, IL 60130, on June 26, 2026.