This spring, neon pink poppies, scarlet tulips, and bronze irises will poke their heads through rich, dark soil. Coral bells and calendula will turn to the sun, purple clematis will cling to the gray weathered arbor while daylilies, daisies, and delphinium burst forth in a cacophony of color. Red-twigged dogwood will pop their buds into leafy splendor and the tree swallows will return to the old birdhouses as they have done every year for the past decade. The residents of Irene’s English Garden will be present and accounted for, all except one-the master gardener herself.

After a serious hip fracture, Irene Evelyn Schulz, gently passed away six days later, just a few months short of her 93rd birthday. She was born in Bowman, N.D., on April 30, 1931, to Gladys and Gerald Padgett. The Dustbowl and Great Depression instilled frugality and independence that never wavered for nine decades. All those who knew her, marveled at her grit and grace. As a child, she survived every childhood disease including smallpox. At the age of ten, her childhood ended; her loving father died of pneumonia four days before Christmas, a loss that affected her deeply. She, her younger brother, David, and mother were suddenly left without a provider. They did what they needed; Irene got a job, the first of many.

Upon graduation from high school in 1949, Irene enrolled in St. Patrick’s School of Nursing in Missoula, Mont. In 1952, she met the love of her life, Jim Schulz, a pharmacy student at the University of Montana. After a nine-month courtship and Jim’s draft notice, they quickly tied the knot on Feb. 7, 1953. A week later, he shipped overseas. They relied on daily letters and a single long distance phone call to get them through their 18-month separation. During that time, Irene was the resident head nurse at her hometown hospital in Bowman.

Irene and Jim had a joyous reunion upon his discharge from the Army. They moved to northwest Montana and began a life together that would last for 66 loving years. The couple purchased a home in Troy and soon filled it with a son and daughter. In 1960, Irene and Jim fulfilled a dream to own their own business and purchased the drugstore in Drummond, Mont., a small town situated at the north end of Flint Creek Valley.

Irene assumed numerous roles: Cub Scout Den Mother, school/rodeo/town nurse, County First Aid Instructor, Eastern Star Worthy Matron, Rainbow Girls Advisor, Montana State Pharmacy Association officer, and business owner. In 1966, when rural Montana embraced Emergency Medical Services training, Irene was a member of the inaugural class. She was the go-to medical professional in north Granite County and volunteered at every public health event. Attending to those with broken bones, lacerations, heart attacks, diabetic shock, seizures, alcohol poisoning, births, as well as dozens of ambulance trips to the nearest ER 38 miles away was always a possibility night and day for Irene.

Some fertility elixir ran wild in the waters of Flint Creek Valley in 1968, as Irene joined several of her pregnant friends and soon a baby boy appeared in the Schulz household bringing the family to five souls. Life was busy. Somehow, Irene always found the time to garden. This passion would be a priority in her life until the end. A panoply of flowers, shrubs, fruit trees, shade trees, succulents, and hedges of honeysuckle and lilacs thrived, and a substantial vegetable garden that provided fresh produce to harvest always accompanied this pollination heaven. Her children helped out with the chores, and they became experts at weeding, hoeing, pruning, rototilling, and irrigating as well shelling peas, shucking corn, picking beans, and digging root crops. After harvesting came canning and freezing. Homegrown food was the staple.

Irene wove herself into the fabric of the town and county as a neighborhood builder and community servant. In addition to being a master gardener, her creative talents included sewing, painting, woodworking, and crafts of all sorts. Irene, a stranger to idle hands, always had a project in the works. She was active in the Methodist Church and taught VBS as well as Sunday school. She was well loved and respected by all who came under her umbrella of influence.

In 1978, Irene and Jim sold their store and moved to Tualatin, Ore., with their youngest son, Rob, to become partners in a small drugstore chain. While living there, Irene was very active in the Tualatin Methodist Church. Like a master gardener, she worked her magic on the sterile, detached suburban block they occupied by planting seeds of welcome and kindness, cultivating it into a vibrant and friendly neighborhood.

Seven years later, Jim, Irene and Rob, moved again, this time to Burns/Hines. They quickly remodeled and landscaped a quaint brick house on Pettibone. It was here that she and Jim would stay put for the next 30 years. The medical community enthusiastically welcomed them. Irene became a stalwart member of the hospital board and Jim continued as a Safeway Pharmacist. As the years passed, their home became a destination for dinners, barbecues, birthday parties, and holiday gatherings with their ever-widening circle of family and friends. The door was always open at the Schulz home.

As a member of the Pioneer Presbyterian Church and local P.E.O. chapter, Irene worked tirelessly to raise money for missions, clothing, and scholarships. Craft fairs kept her busy for months with designing and fashioning unique items to sell. She invested many hours in her workshop creating marvelous hand turned wooden bowls and hand carved Christmas creches. When her granddaughters visited, Nana’s fun filled craft projects and baking skills left treasured memories for both Johänna and Clara.

In her 70s, Irene reached the venerable status of “wise woman”: her care and counsel were sought by all who knew her. Irene’s memory was phenomenal and her knowledge of family history extensive. She was loyal to her friends and loved her husband and family fiercely. Irene was a wicked card and cribbage player. She appreciated a good joke and loved to laugh.

Ninety-two years will not pass without challenges, and Irene had her share, but it was her grace and perseverance that won the day. Irene epitomized Nobel laureate Samuel Becket’s famous phrase, “I can’t go on. I’ll go on”. Her children would lovingly refer to her as “Irene the Iron Woman.” Irene embodied the essence of Proverbs 31. She never let setbacks define her.

Irene enriched the world with her presence for over nine decades so it is no surprise that she outlived her parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and younger brothers. She is survived by her sons, Jim (Gail), of Helena, Mont., Rob (Kristina) of Warrenton, Ore; daughter, Sue Ann Lund (Ross) of Poulsbo, Wash.; two granddaughters, West Point graduates, Maj. Johänna Williams and Cpt. Clara Jacobs; and nephews, Del and Todd Padgett.

A memorial celebration honoring the life of this remarkable woman will be held at 11 a.m, Saturday, June 15 at the Pioneer Presbyterian Church in Burns, Oregon. The family requests that those attending wear something bright and colorful in honor of Irene’s love of flowers.

She loved her P.E.O. sisters and the work that they do to celebrate the advancement of women via scholarships, grants, awards, and loans. Please consider donating to Burns Chapter of P.E.O. Make checks out to P.E.O. Chapter EY. On the memo line put IM Irene Schulz. Mail to Laurie Draper. PO BOX 382, Hines, OR. 97738.