Irene Jeanette Engelbach, 92

Irene Jeanette Engelbach, 92, died Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007, at the Immanuel Lutheran Home in Kalispell.

She leaves behind many family members and friends who loved her dearly and will miss her laugh, her wry humor, her kind heart, her quiet courage. We, her four children, remember her dedication to her job as our mother. She loved us well. She kept us clean, respectable and honest, made sure we did our best in school, and, on top of all that, was a great cook. We remember her keen interest in our education, determined that her two daughters would attend the university, as well as her two sons. We remember her desire that we all have some musical training, and we remember her love for her husband, our dad, Bob Engelbach. They loved to go dancing, and tried everything from ballroom and square dancing to swing. Her daughters-in-law remember her as a wonderful mentor. She was their mother also.

Irene was born in Kelvin, N.D., on either March 31 or April 1, 1915, the daughter of Olaf Victor and Fern Elizabeth (Stickland) Lagerquist. In her family memoir she explained that she was born very close to midnight and there was some argument in the family as to the correct date. They finally settled on April 1 and, much to her chagrin as a young child, she became an April Fools' baby.

She wrote, 'I lived on a farm in north central North Dakota in the Turtle Mountains about one half mile from the Canadian border.' The Turtle Mountains 'were rolling, round hills heavily forested with deciduous trees; poplars, oaks, and willows. Our farm house was on one of these gently sloping hills ...' She attended a one-room schoolhouse — open only during the spring and summer months — and, at one point, was responsible for driving the horse and cart, full of siblings and cousins, to school.

She graduated from high school and finished one year of business school in North Dakota before moving, at age 24, to Cut Bank.

There she met her future husband and love of her life, Bob Engelbach. They were married June 14, 1940, at St. John's English Lutheran Church in Great Falls.

In 1945, Rene and Bob and their first two children, Bob Jr., and Nancy, moved to Cody, Wyo., where Bob worked in the oil industry. They made their final move in 1947, when they arrived in the Flathead Valley. Two more children, Sherry and Don, were born in Kalispell.

Irene joined the First Presbyterian Church of Kalispell soon after arriving in 1947, and was an active member. She sang in the church choir, taught Sunday school and summer Bible school, organized and helped direct senior high with her husband, and served for many years as a church deacon.

In 1970, Rene and Bob decided they needed an adventure. Their four children had their own lives, and Rene and Bob were not ready to retire. So they joined the U.S. Peace Corps. Their first assignment was in Jamaica, where they lived and worked for three years in the village of Christiana. They made many great friends, did some important work, and discovered the pleasures of life in the tropics. Another Peace Corps assignment took them to Medellin, Colombia, for a year. This was a difficult tour of duty. They worked in the men's and women's prisons, teaching sports and homemaking skills. Their final two years with the Peace Corps were on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean. Again, they found the pleasures of a tropical environment and good friends. During these years, they also managed to save enough of their Peace Corps salaries to take two trips to Europe while awaiting Peace Corps reassignments.

After seven years away from the Flathead Valley, Rene decided it was time to come home to get re-acquainted with their grandchildren and to help with the ones soon to be born. She again took up her activities in the Presbyterian Church, joined an aerobics group, was a member of the PEO, and served on the Salvation Army Advisory board.

Irene was preceded in death by her husband, Bob.

She is survived by four children, Bob Engelbach of Anchorage, Alaska, Nancy Hunn and Don Engelbach of Seattle, and Sherry Johns of Kalispell. She has 11 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Irene Engelbach will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21, at the First Presbyterian Church of Kalispell. All who knew and loved Irene are cordially invited to attend.

Because Irene strongly valued education and reading, the family suggests memorials be made to the Flathead County Library, 247 First Ave. E., Kalispell, MT, 59901, or to a charity of choice.

Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for Irene's family. You are invited to go to www.johnsonmortuary.com to offer condolences and sign Irene's guest book.