Irene Parge, 95, of Minot, died Sunday, February 6, 2011, in a Minot nursing home.

Irene was born December 24, 1915, on the family farm in Simcoe, ND, the daughter of Otis and Anna (Knutson) Lee. She was raised in Granville and also attended high school in Norwich.

Irene was united in marriage to Robert Parge on May 5, 1935, in Minot. From this union they were blessed with a daughter, Jean, and a son, Kenneth. They made their home in Minot. Bob and Irene were married nearly 70 years, until Bob died on May 1, 2005.

Irene's priorities in life included her family and her church. She loved raising her family and worked as a bookkeeper for the family businesses, Minot Lumber Company and later Home Service Center until their retirement in 1976.

She was an active member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church participating in many groups and activities that included Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) and the Lutheran Laymen's League (LLL). Her life enjoyments included cookie and pie making, family picnics, crocheting and embroidery work. Irene enjoyed bowling at a younger age, and loved working with people through her more than 6,000 hours of volunteer work at the Trinity Hospital.

Irene's loving family includes her daughter, Jean, of Santa Maria, CA; grandsons: Stephen Janssen, Santa Maria, CA, Wade (Michelle) Janssen, Chesterton, IN, Todd (Shelly) Parge, Missoula, MT, and Jason (Teresa) Parge, Spokane, WA; great-grandchildren: Army Specialist Robert (Kelci) Parge, Liesl, Megan, Ian and Noah Janssen; sister: Hazel Thomas, Minot; and several nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Bob, son, Ken, brother, Albert and sisters, Mildred Crawford and Bertha Olson.

A joint funeral service with Irene's son Kenneth who died on December 26, 2010, will be held Thursday, February, 17, 2011, at 11 a.m. in St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Minot.
Interment : Rosehill Memorial Park
Visitation : Wednesday, February 16, 2011, from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. in the Thomas Family Funeral Home of Minot.
Memorials : Memorials are preferred to St. Paul's Lutheran Church LWML, LLL or to an organization of the donor's choice.