Irene Lemaster

Mary Irene Lemaster, left this world to join her husband, April 20, 2015, at the Lone Tree Retirement Center.

She was born May 5, 1929, at the home of her parents, Walter Earnest and Ora Isbell (Boyd) Fletcher, in Meade, Kansas. Irene grew up in Meade except for a short time when they lived in Waco, Texas, during World War II.

She married Willis Leroy Lemaster, October 4, 1947, in Meade. To this union were born two sons, Larry Wayne of Meade, and James Alan and wife Kay of Woodward, Oklahoma.

Irene is survived by her sons; grandson, James William Lemaster of Woodward, Oklahoma; sister, Betty Pitts of Hutchinson, Kansas; a brother-in-law, Dean and wife Mary Lemaster of Colorado Springs, Colorado; her aunt, Dorothy Barritt of Meade; seven nieces; a nephew; two granddaughters; a grandson; six great-granddaughters; two great-grandsons; and a great-great-granddaughter.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Leroy; her parents; and a brother, Thomas.

Irene was the first Homecoming Queen at Meade High School. Irene was part of the original “Night Writer Booster” that supported high school sports. Irene was also the founding force behind and first president of Roots and Shoots Genealogy Society. She worked for the Meade County Farm Bureau for thirty-four years and served on the Graceland Cemetery Board, the Meade County Historical Society Board, was a member of the United Methodist Church, the Kansas Genealogy Society, and the New England Genealogy Society.

Irene loved genealogy and spent many hours tracing her family tree and its many branches. She enjoyed helping others trace their roots. She also did research on early fires in Meade and Meade County, and spent hours researching grave sites at Graceland Cemetery. During the 1980’s, she was part of a group attempting to find the burial site of a Catholic nun who had died along the Santa Fe Trail.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, 2015, at the United Methodist Church, Meade. The casket will remain closed. Interment will follow in the Graceland Cemetery.

Memorials are suggested to the Lone Tree Retirement Center Activities Department, the Meade County Historical Society’s School Project, or the United Methodist Church in care of Fidler-Orme-Bachman Mortuary, Meade.

Personal condolences may be given to the family at www.fidlerormebachmanmortuary.com