Irene Anderson's Obituary
Juanita ?Irene? Anderson, 84, Mansfield, Missouri, departed this life June 10, 2010, in Mansfield. She was born November 15, 1925, in Peel, Arkansas, to Elmer and Helen (Scott) Penix.
Irene was the oldest of four siblings and grew up in the Boone County Arkansas area. Growing up, she enjoyed spending time with her family, including her siblings James, Polly and Dale. She graduated from Lead Hill High School and went on to attend Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Arkansas.
While in college, Irene began corresponding with George Henry Anderson, who was a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II. When the war was over and George returned to Arkansas, George picked up Irene on horseback and he and Irene went on their first date. A few months later, Irene and George were united in marriage on September 30, 1945 in Lead Hill, Arkansas.
She remained happily married to him for 57 years, until the time of his death in October 2002. To their union, four children were born: Randy, David, Suzanne and Robin.
Irene continued to pursue her education while raising a family and received her Bachelor?s of Education from School of the Ozarks in Hollister, Missouri. She spent several years teaching both elementary and middle school grades in Arkansas and Missouri, including 8 years in the Mansfield Schools before retiring.
Family was always a first priority for Irene. She and George worked very hard to ensure that their children understood the importance of family. Over the years, she enjoyed many family vacations--both with her children and then later with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She took pleasure in teaching her grandkids how to read and play games, especially cards.
Irene was a member of the Seymour Church of Christ and enjoyed the relationships she had with her church family throughout the years.
Irene was preceded in death by her parents and husband; two sons, Don Jeffrey, infant, and George Randal; one granddaughter, Joanna Elizabeth; one brother, James Edwin Penix; and one sister, Anna Pauline Wilmoth.
She is survived by one son, Glen David, and his wife, Amy, of Lawrenceville, Georgia; two daughters, Helen Suzanne Miller of Mansfield, Missouri, and Robin Beth Carter, and her husband, Steve, of Johns Creek, Georgia; one daughter-in-law, Carol Anderson-Wood, of Alpharetta, Georgia; ten grandchildren, Jennifer Kealler, of Cumming, Georgia, Ashley Black, of Smyrna, Georgia, Stephanie Dockery, of Marietta, Georgia, Austin Miller, of Cordova, Tennessee, Wesley Anderson, of Alpharetta, Georgia, Christopher and Miranda Carter, of Johns Creek, Georgia, Glen Anderson, of Woodstock, Georgia, Alex Miller, of Athens, Georgia, and Jaclyn Anderson, of Lawrenceville, Georgia; four great-grandchildren, Caroline and Anderson Kealler, of Cumming, Georgia, and Jake and Savannah Miller, of Cordova, Tennessee; one brother, Dale Stephen Penix, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and many special nieces and nephews.
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