Irene E. Peters

Irene E. Peters, 98, of Grand Island, formerly of St. Paul, died Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, at Grand Island Lakeview Care & Rehabilitation Center. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 am Wednesday at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul. The Revs. Rayappa Konka and Ray Kosmicki will concelebrate the Mass. Burial will be in the St. Francis Catholic Cemetery in Ashton. Visitation will be one hour before time of the Mass, with a rosary being recited at 9 am at the church. Peters Funeral Home of St. Paul is assisting the family. Irene was born on Jan. 9, 1919, at Elba, the daughter of Mike and Johanna (Hermanek) Walkowiak. She attended Elba Public School and later moved with her family to a farm near Scotia, where she continued her education at the Scotia Public School. She was united in marriage to Edward Peters on Oct. 24, 1938, at Elba. The couple farmed southeast of Ashton their entire married life. Edward died on Oct. 25, 1972. In Jan. 1973, Irene moved to St. Paul where she began working at the Howard County Medical Center in the laundry and housekeeping departments. She retired in 1993 and continued to live in St. Paul. In March 2004 she moved to the Riverside Lodge Retirement Community in Grand Island where she lived until March 2016, when she moved to Lakeview. She was a member of Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church and its Council of Catholic Women and Quilting group. Irene enjoyed vegetable gardening, growing flowers, cooking, baking, canning, playing BINGO, fancywork and embroidery. She is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law, Dean and Margret Peters of Grand Island and Paul and Vicki Peters of Casper, WY; three daughters and two sons-in-law. Betty Johnson of Centennial, CO, Lorraine and Russ Barth of Doniphan and Chris and Jim Anderson of Olathe, KS; 13 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren, and 2 great great grandchildren; and two sisters, Louise Shultz of Fort Madison, IA and LeAnn Ayres of Gladstone, IL. In addition to her husband, Edward, she was preceded in death by her parents; stepmother, Agnes Walkowiak; one infant grandson; one great great grandson; three brothers, Leonard, Hubert and Arthur Walkowiak; and one sister, Margie Svoboda. Memorials are suggested to the family's choice.