April 14, 1948 - September 11, 2023
Gladys "Irene" Ellis passed away peacefully at Hospice House of Spokane early Monday, September 11, 2023 Born in Idaho Falls on April 14, 1948, Irene moved to a small farming town in central California called Turlock. Dave and Irene, who met on the Lawrence Welk Show, were married on New Year’s Eve in 1966. With a burning desire to hear screaming all night and someday spend a lot of money sending a kid through college, they had John in 1969, thus fulfilling both of the aforementioned obligations. In the mid-1970s, Dave and Irene agreed that it was time to move away from Los Angeles to live in a safer and less hectic environment. Irene’s only requirement was that they not move to one of the poor southern states. Dave decided that they would move to Arkansas…a poor southern state. In Arkansas, Dave and Irene bought a little donut shop. Working in the shop 15 hours per day, six days a week, they took Sunday’s off to enjoy such exciting activities as inventory and bookkeeping tasks. After selling the donut shop, Irene went back to the insurance field, earning more licenses than most of the agents for whom she worked. She had no interest in being an agent because she didn’t want the hassles of running another business. In the early 2000’s, Dave and Irene moved to Puyallup in time to experience the Nisqually earthquake. Remembering the good old days in Los Angeles, complete with crowds, long lines, and heavy traffic, it only took a few years before Dave decided it was time to move again. This move brought them to Spokane. After Dave died in 2013, John moved to Spokane to be near the greatest mom in the history of mankind. Irene also brought John into the Fithian/Reed/Wiser clan, who became the adopted family for both Irene and John. Irene devoted much of her time to arts and crafts, including crocheting baby blankets that she donated to parents of newborn screamers. Irene was fortunate to enjoy the company of countless close friends who will mourn her loss for years to come. While we grieve over her passing, we will always remember the great joy she brought to every life she touched…and there were many.
