Irene K. Ford

Irene was born on May 25, 1920 in rural Ida County. She was one of seven siblings, all of whom were first generation Americans, born to Carl and Paula (Bumann) Kay). She was baptized and confirmed at the St. Paul Lutheran Church of Holstein. She attended and graduated from Griggs No. 1 Country School.

In 1938 she married Ross Flanagan. They moved to Texas for a short time. In 1942 they moved to Seattle, WA where Irene was employed by Boeing Aircraft. She worked as a “Rosie the Riveter” which called for her to climb into the wings of the B-17’s to help secure the rivets. When World War II ended in 1945, she went to work for Sears, Roebuck and Company. During this time she and Ross divorced. She retired from Sears and moved to her home on Lake Morton near Kent, WA.

Irene then married Paul Ford on May 31, 1958 in Reno, NV. They spent many delightful years at their home on Lake Morton, enjoying the beautiful view of snow capped Mr. Rainier along with fishing and boating on the lake. Every morning Irene would have a flock of ducks waiting for her along the shoreline to feed them day old bread. She remained in contact with her friends at Sears along with becoming very active in the senior citizen group at Black Diamond, WA.

Paul’s health began to fail and he passed away on March 6, 1999. Irene continued to live in her home until 2004. As her health was declining, she decided to return to her Iowa roots. With the help of two brothers and their wives, she moved back to Holstein. She moved into the Good Samaritan Society to be with her sister, Edna. She passed away on February 9, 2016.

She is survived by two brothers, Herbert (Joyce) Kay of Holstein, IA and Alvin (Donna) Kay of Sioux City, IA; sister-in-law, Lorraine Kay of Holstein, IA; along with many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Irene was preceded in death by her husband, Paul; her parents; sister, Minnie (Jess) Williams, Edna (Ray) Nelson, and Evelyn (Willard) Carlson; and brothers, Walter Kay.

The family would like to thank the entire staff of the Holstein Good Samaritan Society for their many years of tender love and care. Also thanks to the staff of Hospice for their assistance.