Obit of Irene M. Smith (s530) - Roger Mills County, OK Submitted by: Wanda Purcell ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ========================================================================= Surnames: Smith, Montgomery, Erwin, Wright, Ratter, Sauder Originally posted at: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/5YB.2ACE/4942 Irene M. Smith, passed away on November 14, 1999 at Brighton Gardens Nursing Home in Scottscale, Arizona. Irene Montgomery was born in Joplin, Texas to Sarah Ann Erwin Montgomery and Hugh Alexander Montgomery on June 17, 1907. She attended grade school in Joplin, Texas. Her parents, brothers and sisters then moved to Cheyenne, Oklahoma and she attended Cheyenne High School. She was one of Cheyenne's Star basketball players. Irene attended Southwestern Teacher's College in Weatherford, Oklahoma. There she met William W. Wright and they were married. They left Weatherford and went to Phoenix, Arizona in 1926. They fell in love with Arizona, so they decided to make their home there. They were members of the First Southern Baptist Church. To this union two daughters were born, Maxine Ratter and Ann Saunder. Irene married John P. "Jack" Smith in Smith in Phoenix on June 17, 1945. She was preceded in death by her husband, who was Vice President and General Manager of Holsum Bakery. She was also preceded in death by two grandchildren, Alan Leroy Saunder and Cynthia Irene Ratter. Irene and Jack were very active in the Elks Club where Jack was a special member and Irene was a Lady Elk. They were also active in the Phoenix Junior Chamber of Commerce where Irene was a Dudette. She received the Rosenweig Award, Woman of the Year, which was a great honor. Irene served on the Board of Directors for Samuel Compers Clinic for haandicapped children. She spent numerous hours driving and picking up children, taking them to Gompers for their therapy and returning them back home. She was a retired real estate broker. Irene was a very special person to her family and friends. Family meant everything to her. She was lovely by all who knew her. She will be greatly missed. Irene was good friends with Sylvia and Joe Frank Moad, and their children, Jo Beth and Joe Bill of Cheyenne. The Moad's visited in Phoenix many times with Irene and her daughter, Ann. They all had good times together. Irene has a great niece in Elk City, Oklahoma, who happens to be one of Cheyenne's Star basketball players, Laurie Jan Cannon. Irene owned the family farm of Sarah Ann and Hugh Alexander Montgomery. This is the farm she was raised on in Cheyenne, Oklahoma. She will be remembered in Cheyenne as they named two wells for her-The Irene #3-6 and The Irene #5-6. Irene is survived by two daughters, Maxine Ratter and Ann Saunder, five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and two great great grandchildren. She is also survived by her deceased brother Claude Montgomery's children, who lived in Phoenix at one tie, thrre nieces and three nephews. Visitation was held form 10 a.m.-11 a.m., Saturday, November 20, 1999 with the service at 11 a.m. conducted by Pastor Dale Keith of the First Southern Baptist Church and Whitney and Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Raod, Phoenix, Arizona. Interment was at Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery, Phoenix, Arizona. Cheyenne Star, Cheyenne, OK