Ballou, Irene

Irene Ballou, 94, formerly of Olin, Iowa, died Saturday, April 14, 2012, at Monticello Nursing and Rehab in Monticello, following a brief illness.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 19, 2012, at Olin Community United Methodist Church, Olin. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Lahey Funeral Home in Olin. Burial will be in the Olin Cemetery, Olin, Iowa.

Ruth Irene Sawyer was born November 6, 1917 near Morley, Iowa, to Gordon and Belle (Plummer) Sawyer. She began school at Hazel Hill located one mile south of her parents' farm. Beginning in second grade she attended and graduated from Morley High School in 1935.

Irene and Merle Ballou were married April 24, 1937 at the Methodist parsonage in Anamosa and lived their entire married life in Olin or on the farm they purchased west of Olin in 1952. Following Merle's death on April 14, 2000, Irene continued to live on the farm until declining health prompted her move to Pennington Square in April of 2010 and subsequently to Monticello Nursing and Rehab.

Irene is survived by two daughters, Linda Rogers and husband Ronald, and Pamela Patrick and husband Kyle, both of Cedar Rapids; two sons, James Ballou and wife Lana of Olin, and Steven Ballou and wife Vicki of Wyoming; eight grandchildren, Dawn (Roger) Bouzek, Stephanie (Bryan) Fickel, Rhonda (Tom) Jackson, Jaimie (Chris) Bowser, Christopher (Kari) Ballou, Travis (Kelly) Ballou, Sarah (Tim) Sines and Jennipher (Jason) Thielman; and 14 great-grandchildren, Drake, Jordan and Blaze Bouzek, Jack and Ellery Fickel, Taylor and Lydia Jackson, Annaliese and Emerson Bowser, Cayden and Dane Ballou, Adam and Dylan Sines, and Zach Thielman.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Merle; granddaughter, Debra Rogers; and great-granddaughter, Sydney Jackson.

Memorials may be made to Olin United Methodist Church, the Olin Library, or a charity of choice in Irene's memory.

Online condolences may be left for the family at .

Published April 17, 2012 in The Gazette