Irene L. Caldarelli

Irene Lazar Caldarelli, 92, long-time Fullerton resident and homemaker, passed away peacefully August 10 at her residence in Irvine.    Born on January 5, 1925 in Elbert, West Virginia, Irene was the youngest child of Charles (Lazlo) Lazar, an immigrant coal miner from Hungary, and Marvine Palanchar Lazar, of Hungarian descent from Pennsylvania. Irene met future husband Louis, a US Army engineer, while employed as a secretary with The Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge TN and Los Alamos NM.  With her husband and 2 young daughters, Irene moved to Fullerton in 1956, where she was a member of St. Mary's Church, volunteer at the public schools and Meals-on-Wheels, secretary/board member at Coral Industries Inc. in Santa Fe Springs, and an avid gardener.   Irene is predeceased by her loving husband of 70 years, Louis Caldarelli of Fullerton; her parents and sisters Mary Lazar and Elizabeth Lazar of Tampa FL; and brother John Lazar of Middlefield OH.   Irene is survived by daughter Eileen Caldarelli of Irvine, retired teacher at Sunkist Elementary School in Anaheim; daughter Annette Caldarelli Abbott (aka Annie Calder) of Fullerton and NYC, songwriter/musician and former executive at Hunt-Wesson Foods in Fullerton; and grandchildren Marek Abbott of Fullerton; Karlin Abbott of Norwalk CT; and Ellany Abbott of Stamford CT.   Services for Irene Caldarelli were held in private.  We ask that donations in Irene's memory be made to www.alz.org in support of Altzheimer's and dementia research.