Easton, Irene

Irene Easton, 94, died Wednesday, June 16, 2010, at Good Samaritan Center, West Union, where she has resided since suffering a stroke in November 2003. Funeral Mass: 10 a.m. Saturday, June 26, at Holy Name Catholic Church, West Union. Visitation: 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Burnham-Wood Funeral Home in West Union, where a rosary begins at 5 p.m. and Scripture service at 7 p.m. A memorial service will be held at 8 p.m. Friday at Holy Name Parish Center. The public is invited to share in the celebration of her life. Following dinner burial will be at Strawberry Point Cemetery.

Survivors include four sons, Chuck (Barb) of Davenport, Bill (Joanne) of Barrington, Ill., Doug (Jane) of West Union and Randy (Dodie) of Cedar Rapids; four daughters, Sharlene Geraghty of Hastings, Minn., Mary Ann Kucera of Traer, Judy (Frank) Trumpy and Therese (Don) Roth of Denver, Colo.; three brothers, Dr. Robert (Rose Mary) Burke of Jefferson, Vincent (Joanne) Burke of Davenport and Ed (Janis) Burke of Greenbrae, Calif.; a sister, Rosemary Dunn of Strawberry Point; 28 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren.

Irene rejoins her husband, Wm. Howard; son, John; grandson, Richard Easton; sons-in-law, Tony Kucera and Roger Geraghty; parent; and siblings, Harold Burke, Marguerite Burrack, Dorothy Mierson, Kathleen Glab and Marie Cook.

Irene Veronica Burke was born Jan. 11, 1916, in Tripp County, S.D., the fourth of 10 children of homesteaders, Frank and Josephine (Raders) Burke. Irene was valedictorian of the 1934 class at Strawberry Point. She taught school briefly before marrying Howard Easton on Aug. 17, 1934. They lived in several towns in northeast Iowa, raising a family of nine children. In 1962, Howard took over the Culligan dealership in West Union. Irene was active in church and community activities, but her life focused around her family and garden, both of which flourished under her loving care.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the memorial fund.

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