Irene Demman

Irene May Demman (Smith) 1914 - 2010

Peacefully on Friday, May 28, 2010, Irene May Demman was called home to her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ from the Lion's Prairie Manor, Portage la Prairie, MB at the age of 95 years.

Predeceased by Jim in 2001, her beloved and devoted husband of 64 years, 1 sister Anne McDonald and 1 brother Harold Smith, Irene is lovingly remembered by her daughter Adele (Allan) Dand of Calgary; son Bob (Jean) Demman of Portage; 4 grandchildren: Joe (Sue) Dand of Calgary, Jeff (Rebecca) Dand of Calgary, Kip (Suzanne) Demman of Winnipeg, Jill (Brad) Little of Winnipeg; 6 great-grandchildren: Amanda and Ryan Dand, Jamie and Ben Dand, Branden and Justin Little; sister-in-law Mildred Smith; nephew Ken Smith and niece Sally (Gerry) Mastaler.

Irene was born on the Smith family farm in Portage July 29, 1914. She married James "Jim" Demman in 1936 and they made their home in Portage. She was a long-time member of the First Presbyterian Church. When her children were teenagers, she went to work at Sears, then in 1958 to Hargreaves Drug Store and subsequently to Lo-Cost Drug Mart for 9 years, retiring in 1981. She was a long-time member of Ruth Rebecca Lodge.

One of her favorite pastimes for many, many years was to spend thousands of hours knitting hundreds of pairs of mitts, afghans and baby sweaters for family, friends and mostly charities like the Presbyterian Church Women's Auxiliary and the Portage Hospital Gift Shop. Irene was a "founding member" of her swim club where she learned to swim at the age of 70. She loved to watch curling on TV in the winter, baseball in summer and thoroughly enjoyed the view from the big window in her living room. Her greatest joys were her family. She especially loved to get down on the floor and play with her great-grandchildren. She was dearly loved and will be greatly missed by many.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel, Royal Road S. from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Funeral Service will be held Friday, June 4, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 17 Royal Road S., with Reverend John M. Zondag officiating. Interment will follow at Evergreen Memorial Gardens.

As expressions of sympathy, if friends so wish, donations may be made in Irene's memory to First Presbyterian Church Foundation, 17 Royal Road S., Portage la Prairie, MB R1N 1T8, the Lions Prairie Manor, 24 a�" 9th St. S.E., Portage la Prairie, MB R1N 3V4 or to a charity of choice.

A tree will be planted and cared for in memory of Irene at Evergreen Memorial Gardens by McKenzies Portage Funeral