ODIN — It was a joyful day that day in Beaver, Kan. where on Aug. 22, 1927 my mother, Irene Ann Werner, was born to my Grandparents John Baptist and Regina Philomena Werner. She was born into a wholesome Christian family that grew into 11 brothers and sisters.

She grew up on farm northwest of Odin, Kan. She and her family attended Holy Family Catholic Church and she attended school there.  Unfortunately, she was stricken with polio as a teenager and had to leave school during her high school years. However, she did not allow the polio to curb her dreams. Through her strong will and determination, she overcame the disease and earned her Cosmetologist license.

She met my father, Ted Panzer, married and lived in Chase, Kan. where my three brothers, Terry, Robert and Roy, lived. The family moved to Logan, Kan. where I, Tom, was born. In 1953 the family moved to Victoria, Kan. This is where she raised her family. While living in Victoria, my two sisters, Debra and Faye, were born in Hays, Kan.

Her life in Victoria was busy raising us kids, being a Den Mother in the Cub Scouts, becoming a Eucharistic Minister of the St Fidelis Catholic Church and a secular Franciscan. She accomplished all of this while being the proprietor of ‘Irene’s Beauty Shop’.

She continued to live in Victoria until 2000 when she moved back to her home town, Odin. She lived there until 2011, when she moved to Arizona and lived with me.

It is with a very heavy heart that I must inform her friends and family that she has past to her heavenly reward on Thursday, July 23, 2020 less than 30 days till her 93rd birthday. Although she suffered from cardiac disease for many years, she could not overcome a Covid 19 infection. 

She was preceded in death by my father; my brother, Roy; and my two sisters, Debra and Faye. Now there are only three of us kids left, Terry, Robert and me. She had nine grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

A memorial mass will be celebrated on Aug. 7, 2020 at 11 a.m. in Chandler, Ariz. at St Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church 3450 W Ray Rd, Chandler, AZ. Her funeral mass and interment will be held later this fall in Odin, Kan. at the Holy Family Catholic Church along side her father and mother.

Rest in Peace Mom.

Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Aug. 5, 2020