Irene O'Leary

Irene J. O’Leary, 81, formerly of Mildred, MN, passed away peacefully at her home, Saturday, December 19, 2020.

Irene attended schools in Mildred and Pine River, later attending Anoka Ramsey Community College, earning her LPN degree. She loved being a nurse, working at North Memorial Hospital, the state hospital in Anoka, then the Cuyuna Range nursing home in Crosby, followed by other nursing homes until her retirement in about 2005. She also loved being with her mother and her family, canning, traveling with her sister, Micky, playing piano and laughing along with loved ones.

Irene will be greatly missed by her daughters, Patti and Linda; son-in-law, Larry (Big Larr, as she called him); grandsons: Tony Ellis (Amy), Corey Sanderson (April), Dan Ellis (Christall); granddaughter, Megan Kaspari (Shawn); and great grandchildren: Dylan, Genesis, Gabriel, Dean, Keegan, Perrin and Lincoln. Irene was also a very special person in the lives of “the other two kids,” Diane and Darwin; friends and past and present inlaws; Auntie Mame to Lynn and Duane; several other nephews and nieces; her dear friend Ann; as well as Lynette, the only person to ever get away with calling her “Ma.”

Irene was preceded by her beloved son, Kevin; parents, George and Margaret O’Leary; brothers: Orville Callahan, George O’Leary, Rollin O’Leary; and sisters, Micky (Gertrude) Gillingham and Lillian Bowden.

Services will be 1 PM on Saturday, May 22, at Kline Funeral Home, Pine River. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Backus, followed by a luncheon at Pine Mountain Gospel in Backus.