Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Someone wrote: ‘Love is that condition to which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”

Irene Carrier, who died at the age 82 on April 27, was a good example of a person who lived the Bible verse “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Joe Carrier said his Aunt Irene “was always helping people. She would be out all night and all day helping people. Irene was a beautician for over 60 years, working out of Monte Cole’s store and beauty shop. However, she took her scissors and comb, bobby pins and curlers to nursing homes, the hospital, and to clients’ homes to do their hair.

“She had a lot of friends – too numerous to mention. Aunt Irene never met a stranger, and she never met anyone she didn’t like,” said Joe.

Often, when she visited a home to do a client’s hair, she did much more. She would wash dishes, sweep the floor, and often run an errand for the person, especially if they were older and alone.

Irene was the oldest of her siblings and when she was 16 years old, her mother died, leaving her to care for her younger brother and sister. “She outlived them both,” said Joe, who is one of many nieces and nephews whom Irene loved as her own children. She and her late husband, Dallas, had no children of their own, but a lot of children called her “Granny.”

Irene was a devout Christian and a long-time member of Poplar Grove Baptist Church. She attended church regularly up until the last four years. “She suffered from dementia and was in and out of the nursing home at different times for rehab. She had been in the Hermitage Health Care Center for the past year,” said Joe.

He noted that his aunt enjoyed gardening and taking pictures. “After she died I found boxes of photographs she had taken. She enjoyed taking pictures of the seasons, such as colorful leaves in the fall, blooming flowers in the summer, and snow scenes in winter.”

Joe noted that his Aunt Irene had flowerbeds everywhere at her home. “She sure did enjoy growing flowers,” Joe shared.

Irene enjoyed cooking and making cakes and pies for the shut-in and sick. “She would also take dishes of food to people, where there was a death in the family. If there was a need, she was there to help,” said Joe.

A friend, Karen Gentry, noted on the funeral home tribute page: “She (Irene) had a heart of gold and would do anything for anybody. She always showed love to me and my family.”

Sharon Shell wrote: “She always had a kind word for everyone and I am privileged to have known her.”

Tammy Largent penned these words in Irene’s memory: “Words cannot describe what a special lady she was, and how many lives she touched.”

Joe added that his Aunt Irene had many friends. “There were so many folks who came to the funeral home, and almost all shared something she had done for them or their family,” he shared.

Irene Carrier was laid to rest May 1 in the Richardson Cemetery not too far from her home and next to her husband, Dallas.

When you think of Irene Carrier, you think of friendship. True friends are those rare people who come to find you in dark places and lead you back to the light. Irene Carrier was a true friend to many people, especially to friends and neighbors on Stoney Creek.