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Hodges, Irene Agnes (Starustka) (1936-2024)
Hodges, Irene
Obituary
2024
Fort Bend Herald, January 11, 2024:
Irene Hodges grew up in Frydek before her parents, Emil and Agnes Starustka, moved and built their home in Wallis. An only child, she was fortunate to have both sets of grandparents and enjoyed the company of her cousins when growing up. Irene met and married her husband, Talmage, of 70 years, when she was going to Wallis High School. They were married at Guardian Angel Catholic Church. She left her home to be with her new husband, Tal, where he was working on bridge construction sites across Texas. A year later, their son, Donnie, was born, and 10 months after, daughter, Debbie, arrived, so Irene was both a young wife and mother before turning 20. The young couple lived in a small trailer house and moved around to towns like Gainesville, Hillsboro, Longview, and Claude, Texas. When Donnie and Debbie were seven and six, Irene and Talmage decided to settle down in Wallis where they built their first house on land near her parents, the Starustkas. The children were enrolled in Guardian Angel Catholic School. Irene and Tal enjoyed playing volleyball at the Lutheran Church, visiting friends, playing card and domino games, such as 42, and dancing. They loved to travel, from annual drives to see the bluebonnets, to day trips with grandkids, sometimes in their RV, to Puerto Vallarta, MX, skiing in Colorado, and Amish Country in Pennsylvania. Irene was a member of the Wallis Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court Queen of Angels #1538 for 55 years; she sold Avon Products, wrote local news for The Sealy News, and worked at Texas Instruments for several years while her son and daughter were in school. She was artistic, painted in oils and acrylics, made lovely floral arrangements, and kept a beautiful home. She was a wonderful cook and an accomplished snow skier. Irene's first love was her family; a loving mother, she doted on her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's Dementia over seven years ago, Irene became worse during the COVID pandemic. A fall which broke her hip caused her to lose mobility. Ongoing decline required her to be moved to a memory care facility. She was preceded in death by her parents, Agnes and Emil Starustka, and her husband, Talmage Blaine Hodges. Survived by her son, Donald Blaine Hodges (Veronica); daughter, Deborah Hodges Ortiz; grandchildren, Layla Christensen (Steve), Derek Blaine Hodges (Le'Ann), Brian Ortiz, and Jonathan Ortiz (Katherine); great-grandchildren, Schyler, Tyler, and Kacey Christensen, Charlotte Marie Ortiz, Marielle and Carolina Ortiz. Services will be held at Guardian Angel Catholic Church, 5610 Demel St. in Wallis on Saturday, January 13. Visitation begin at 9:30 am., rosary at 10:30, and funeral mass at 11:00 a.m., followed by burial at Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery, 833 Main St., Sealy, Texas. Donations can be made to The Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org in her memory. |
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Hodges
Irene
43681
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