Irene Filbey
March 5, 1908 ~ October 8, 2010
Irene's Tribute Video
Irene Filbey, 102, of Pierre, passed away, Friday, October 8, 2010 at her home.
Funeral services were held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, October 14, 2010 at the United Methodist Church in Highmore with Pastor Jenene Earl officiating. Burial followed in the Highmore Cemetery. Visitation was held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at the Luze Funeral Home in Highmore with a 7:00 p.m. prayer service.
Irene was born March 5, 1908 in Battle Creek, MI. She was the eldest daughter of Lawrence and Bertha (Kip) Ellis. She graduated from a three room country school in Gascoyne, ND and attended Rapid City Commercial College where she met Theodore Albert Filbey. She taught for some years at various places, earning $60/month and paying $16/month room and board. She would teach for 2 years then the school district would move her to another school. The last place she thought did not hire her for the second year, fearing she was soon to be married and consequently pregnant, but letters showed their mistake as they begged her to come back after a string of bad luck!
Irene was married to Theodore Albert Filbey on September 1, 1940 at Pierre, SD. They took over the Filbey family ranch south of Holabird, SD in 1950, where they raised their two children, Frances Etta (Filbey) Smith and Owen Dean Filbey. Irene was an active 4-H leader and often threw dances in the basement of their home.
Ted and Irene moved to Pierre in 1966 and invested their time and money in rental houses. Irene resided there until her death.
Irene is survived by her children Frances and Owen, grand children Buffy (Smith) Ellsworth and Caycee (Smith) Melchert, and great grand children Samantha Melchert and Alana Ellsworth.
She is preceded in death by her parents Lawrence and Bertha Ellis, siblings Perry, Homer, Martha, and Marian, and husband Theodore.
Luze Funeral Home of Highmore has been entrusted with Irene's arrangements.
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I am so sorry to hear about your mom…she lived a full life with the special care of her loving daughter…..Betty
We are so sorry to hear of your loss, our thoughts & prayers are with you all.
Fran and family,
Please know my thoughts are with all of you at this difficult time. HUGS and more Hugs to you, Frannie! Take care.
I remember meeting Irene when visiting Fran. She was very gracious, I am sorry for her loss.
Frances, Owen & families, We are very sorry to hear of the passing of your mother. You will be in our prayers and thoughts. I(Marlene) remember when we were going to high school together a long time ago. God Bless you and take care.
So sorry to hear about the loss of your mother and grandmother. We will keep you in our prayers.
The Stephensons
To all of Irene’s Family,
Irene looked so good tonight. The flowers were so vibrant and all those pictures….that was awesome to see. Irene would have been so pleased. She was an amazing woman. I will miss all her stories. I will miss her soft voice. I will miss our afternoon porch visits. Taking care of her these past 5 months…she became family to me. I already miss her so much. It a great deal to me that she is now resting in peace. Closure is important. She was an extroidinary woman….I am glad to have known her.
Lisa
Fran, so sorry about your loss. We will miss Irene. She was truly a sweet, kind and considerate soul. Her stories were fascinating and we enjoyed helping her out whenever possible. Take care.
fran and family. may God throw open wide the gates of Heaven and welcome his faithful servant home. i see the beautiful family resemblance in you and owen’s faces. what a lovely video tribute! it was so good to see you last weekend. wishing you peace in the days ahead. i love you. lori