Irene Korth Graef passed away February 23.  She was 95 years old.

Irene Ann Korth was born in 1926 in Crofton, Nebraska.  She spent the first 12 years of her life on a couple of different farms in Northeastern Nebraska with her parents and older brother.  In 1936 they sold the farm and moved to Henry County, Missouri.  Irene graduated from Clinton High School in 1943 and began to work for the Covington Insurance Agency.  Among her hobbies was being a member of a bowling league.  It was through those matches that she met her future husband, Ervin “Corky” Graef.  They married in 1949 and moved to Urich, where they spent the next 60 years of their life raising their son Stephen, and daughter Marsha.

Irene was a Den Mother while Steve was in Cub Scouts and a Leader for the Campfire Girls while Marsha was a member.  Over the years she worked at the Urich Bank, as a bookkeeper for Urich and Sherwood Schools, and was City Clerk for Urich.  She was a member of Evangel Presbyterian Church and over the next 60 years she was a custodian, a trustee, a financial clerk, an elder, a women’s group leader, and a Sunday School Teacher.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, her husband, and her daughter.  She is survived by her son and his partner (and Penny the 5-pound Pomeranian) and 3 generations of nieces and nephews and their families.  She will be buried in Mullen Cemetery south of Urich.

If you are so moved please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org) or to a charity of your choice in her memory.