Obituary for Irene Burden
Our precious mother, Irene Burden, age 93, died August 3, 2022 after struggling with severe Covid for several weeks. Graveside services will be held at a time still to be determined at George Washington Memorial Park Cemetery in Paramus, New Jersey under the care of Calhoun Mania Funeral Home of Rutherford.
Irene was born on October 31, 1928 in Carlstadt, New Jersey to Florence Venturini Olesfskie and Frederick Olesfskie. She was famous from the start as she was born with two front teeth which got her photo in the local newspaper! Her family moved a lot in those early years as those were the days of the Great Depression. While that was such a difficult time, she learned so much as a child about how to make do with very little and to have fun and appreciate the good things she did have.
As a child, she attended Vreeland Avenue School and then graduated from Municipal School in East Rutherford in 1942. She told us her favorite thing about her school days was writing and putting on plays!
Irene studied hairdressing and secretarial skills. Although she didn’t work as a hairstylist, once she had children, she enjoyed fixing her daughters’ hair with an iron she heated on the kitchen stove! Before that though, she worked for several companies using her excellent office skills. She helped through World War II encouraging people to buy war bonds, writing to soldiers, and sending care packages and scrapbooks to them.
She met Donald Burden while out bowling with her sisters and friends. It was a whirlwind romance and they married on April 22, 1951 just six months after they met. They lived in Florida for two years and then moved back to New Jersey.
Irene was a dedicated stay-at-home mother for many years. She loved the large vegetable garden that she planted each spring and the beautiful azaleas and forsythias that made the yard so lovely. She knew all of the neighbors and some would come over to play cards, have BBQs in the backyard, or just to visit.
Once her daughters were older, she went back to office work which gave her new things to learn and places to make new friends. She worked for over twenty years before retiring and moving back to Florida.
Irene worked and volunteered at the Charlotte County Cultural Center. She made items that were sold in the Gift Shop and enjoyed helping out there along with her three sisters who also volunteered until the pandemic hit in March of 2020.
For fun, Irene loved to make hand embroidered greeting cards. She chose the colors and decorated each one so no two were exactly alike. She also did other embroidery and needlepoint including an entire set of handmade doll furniture that she made for her granddaughter, Kathleen. She loved to research the genealogy of the family, read a variety of books, played games like Mahjong, and she was excellent at solving crossword puzzles. Her whole family benefited from her excellent cooking skills, especially her exceptional potato salad!
Irene was preceded in death by her devoted husband, Donald L. Burden, who passed away suddenly on November 4, 1977.
She is survived by her two daughters, Dianne L. Burden and Linda S. Burden Checkley and husband, Mike Roosth.
Besides her children, Irene is survived by her granddaughter, Kathleen M. Alexander and husband, Jon Alexander, and grandson, Thomas J. Checkley and his wife, L. Allyson Checkley. She was blessed with two great-granddaughters, Lillian and Lilah Alexander.
Irene is also survived by her three sisters, Lillian Olesfskie, Catherine Olesfskie, Anna Place, and Anna’s husband, George Place, many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations towards Meals on Wheels of Charlotte County, Florida or the charity of your choice.
May her memory be for a blessing to all who knew her.