Irene E. (Lawrence) Carpenter

Irene E. Carpenter, 88, of Illinois City entered the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on September 9, 2021 at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf, Iowa.  Funeral services will be 10:00 am Monday, September 13, 2021 at the Hamlet-Perryton Presbyterian Church, 1848 170th Avenue, Reynolds.  Visitation will be from 1-4 pm Sunday, September 12, 2021 at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, 801 W. Edgington Street, Reynolds.  Burial will take place at the Hamlet Cemetery.  Memorials may be made to the Andalusia Ambulance Service, Hamlet-Perryton Church, Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House or the Alzheimer’s Association.

Irene was a longtime member of the church in Hamlet from childhood and taught Sunday School in her youngers years.  She had also been a Girl Scout Den Mother.  Irene was a homemaker and also worked 25 years for Jaydon in Milan.

Irene was born on February 17, 1933 in Newton, Iowa, a daughter of Chester and Lola Summers Lawrence.  She grew up on a farm near Reynolds and drove a horse and buggy to Black Oak one room schoolhouse in Mercer County.  After her second year in high school, she met a country boy from Joy High School at Lake Nelson, a small skating rink in the country between Joy and Reynolds.  After many prayers and some heavenly intervention, George Carpenter’s family moved into the Reynold’s School District and they graduated together at Reynolds High School, class of 1951.  Irene married George on January 11, 1952 at the Hamlet Presbyterian Church.  They would have celebrated a marriage of 70 years in January.

They were together a few months in Lompoc, California while George was in basic training with the army.  After a year in Germany, George came home and held his nine-month old baby boy, Mike, for the first time.  For two weeks each summer, George and Irene took camping vacations in the U.S. and Canada.  That inspired them to design and build Thunderhead Resort Kamp.  With the help of their family, they operated the campground for 25 years before deciding to close the business and see the world.  They traveled to Paris, the Netherlands, Germany, the Holy Land, Egypt, Austria, Prague and Mexico.  They tried a boring cruise but made many winter trips to their favorite spots in the Islands of Hawaii.

A sincere thanks to the nurse and staff at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House for the tender loving care they shared with Irene and her family during her stay.  A very special thanks to her hospice nurse, Jeanette, who brought Irene comfort and care with her home visits.

Those left to cherish her memory include her husband, George Carpenter, Illinois City; children, Mike (Janice) Carpenter, Terri (Randy) Staley and Lori (Tim) Bausch; grandchildren, Ryan Bausch, Dusty (Jessie) Bausch, Kodi (Tyler) Kargl, Mindy (Chris) Mark and Dewey (Melissa) Carpenter; nine great-grandchildren, Alexa, Caleb, Eli, Carter, Natalie, Jade, Henrik, JT and Henley; and sister, Virginia Mohlenbruck.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

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