Name: Olinger Funeral, Cremation & Cemetery - Highland
Address: Thornton, CO

Irene, Sonja Kerr, and I shared many good fellowship times together!   This was taken in 1979.

When I was in high school , state wrestling was in Greeley at UNC . Irene saw our team bus and hopped in to see if I was there . It really impressed the other guys , a good looking  college girl looked me up. Just the way she and my other big sisters are , looking out for their little brother . I also got invited to a couple of house parties , when she was in Greeley . It still impresses me she would have her kid brother go to those .  It was though at some of these activities , I was getting exposed to Christian beliefs and it was preparing me to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior .  I thank the Lord , Irene and my sisters and brother took me to Christian activities and bible studies when I was young . Saved me .

Irene , was always such a hard worker . When we were working in the fields ,  hoeing out weeds , you always knew she would be one of the first ones to the end of her row. She would help us others to finish our row . She never complained or anything , just  did her job and continued on . Will always remember her as strong .


I remember many things about our dear friend Irene.   We went to college together at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado.   We were both majoring in Special Education and Elementary Education.    We and her sister, Eloise, also lived at the  Koinonia House and went to church meetings there together as fellow believers in Christ.  

During our time in Greeley, we also enjoyed sharing fellowship with many other friends.  One of our favorite friends was Sonja Kerr, who used a wheel chair and a van  for transportation.   For several years, we would drive around a lot and have a lot of fun together.  We would often enjoy going out to eat, shopping,  and going to baptisms and other fellowship times, with many very special people! 

In later years, my wife Susan and I enjoyed times of visiting with her and her family, once in Chicago, and several times at their home in Thornton, Colorado.  We enjoyed eating together and fellowshipping, especially right after Thanksgiving, for several years.

We do miss her, but we are glad to look forward to our time of joining with her in Heaven, as  our heavenly father has promised us! 

In the mid 80's, Irene and I would stand on the street corner near a Planned Parenthood clinic with signs encouraging people to consider the life of the unborn. We didn't confront people about the rights of the unborn. We were polite. We did get expletives yelled at us as car drivers drove past us. Irene was a real trooper and stood for the rights of the unborn all her life. 

Another memory- Irene was always there for her kids. She would spend time with them despite being tired as she worked full time as a teacher. I remember seeing her care for her kids as they were in Deerfield, IL and later in Thornton, CO. She made memory boxes for important events for her kids. She made special meals for the birthdays. When Alison and Jacob returned back for a short visit from China, Irene made all of Alison's favorite foods. She was a great mom. 

This is another memory from Ambrosita Romero. It was October 1954. Irene was almost 11 months old but still not walking on her own. Her mother had placed Irene in a walking stroller which she had mastered, but Irene refused to walk without the walking stroller. Her mother would get her out of the walking stroller,  and Irene would just sit on the floor. She wouldn't try to stand up, let alone walk. This was a problem as Irene's younger sister, Eloise, would be coming any day as her mother was very pregnant. Irene's father brought Irene, her 2 older sisters and her step brother to the hospital after her mother had delivered Eloise. Back in those days, children were not allowed to see their mother when they were in the hospital post delivery. As Irene's mother looked out the hospital window, she saw Irene walking on the grass with no help. What a relief that was to her mother  who had a newborn.  In retrospect, we see Irene's independence  personality streak at this early age and that would be with her the rest of her life. :) 

These are memories from Irene's mother, Ambrosita Romero. Irene enjoyed having people over to her house for the holidays and was a great hostess. Even though her house was small, she made everyone feel comfortable. The Romero family get togethers could be as large as 35 people attending. It takes a lot of  planning for such a large crowd. Another memory Irene's mother has of Irene  was when she was about 4 years old. Her mother thought she was lost as she couldn't find her. She was afraid that Irene had wandered into a corn field which was next to the house. Standing outside of the house, she called for Irene. No Irene.  No one had seen Irene for awhile. Her father asked if anyone had checked down in the basement for Irene. Her mother went inside the house and  called out her name, and Irene answered half asleep. It appears that Irene went downstairs to take a nap, and she had covered herself completely so no one knew she was sleeping in bed. Her mother was relieved to find Irene. 

Prior to Irene's death, she wanted to move her personal items back into the master bedroom. Irene went through items she wanted to give away. She found personal items belonging to a person who greatly hurt her. She knew these items had special memories for this specific person. She had a choice- throw the personal items away or return the items to this person. She chose to do what is right in God's eyes- return the items to this person who had hurt her so badly. She chose to walk in love and not hate. She  chose to honor God and His Word, the Bible. May we all follow Irene's example of walking in love and showing God's love to all just as our Savior did for us. 

I remember when Irene and I took a stain glass class in CO Springs. She made a beautiful Tiffany hanging lamp. She was very artistic. She drew a leafy vine for me on 2 rectangular  walnut pieces which I still have up in my kitchen to hang up my measuring cups and spoons. 

I remember the day when Irene and I were looking for kittens on a tall haystack. We were running on the top of the haystack, and Irene slipped and fell off. She was able to grab onto the wire or coarse rope which secured the bale of hay while I pulled her up onto the haystack. I am convinced we had angels helping us. After that episode, I would tease Irene that I saved her life. :) 

She was athletic. She  could do perfect cartwheels which I never mastered. My brothers and sisters would run and jump over bales of hay in the hay fields hoping to land a spot in the US Olympics. :)

Irene loved the outdoors. She was a great hiker. She and I hiked up and down Long Peaks in 1977  in 8 hours. We were able to enjoy lunch and " see Kansas" for 1 hour up on the top of Longs Peak. It was a beautiful August day. 

One of the photos in this program shows Irene and me enjoying a hike in the Sangre de Cristos mountain range. We had gone back packing with our husbands. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful field of wild flowers. 

Irene enjoyed politics. I remember her smile and the excitement we shared as we saw Sarah Palin in Loveland, CO. She enjoyed listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio. 

Irene loved plants, flowers, working in her yard. She loved to cook and bake. She sewed and was good at crafts. Irene was very organized, her photograph albums are amazing! She also had a beautiful laugh, we will miss her greatly!! Rest In Peace little sister!

OBITUARY

Irene Pegler

November 6, 1953 – April 9, 2019

Olinger Funeral, Cremation & Cemetery - Highland

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