Irene T Sark

Irene Teresa Sark was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on August 8, 1920, to parents John and Teofila Paterak (Polish). Irene’s father was a coal miner and during the depression the family lost everything they owned. They moved from town to town to find work. Each time they moved, Irene would be placed up or down a grade in school. She also did not own a pair of shoes and had very little clothing. She soon grew discouraged and restless and at the age of 11, to help with the families’ hardship, took a job as a nanny with a family in New York. She cooked, cleaned, and helped raise their children. She also helped clean the spa that they owned and worked on the weekends at Coney Island operating a ride the family managed. Every month she would wire the $20.00 she earned to her family in Pennsylvania. This would be her life for about 7+ years. Her next job was working in the Old Spice Factory in New York, on the shaving mug assembly line. Irene made many friends and one evening the girls decided to see a play in the city. The tickets were sold out for the play, so they went to a local eatery instead. It was there that Irene met her future husband, John Sark. John was in the military and was at the same eatery that evening (in uniform). He approached the ladies as they were dining and asked, “Who lives the farthest away? I would be honored to escort that person home”. Irene was the lucky lady that night. They talked all of the way home, as they rode the subway. John was in the Air Force, and as it was war time, he would be going off to war soon. The two corresponded for several years and when the war was over they married. It was not long before they were transferred to McChord Air Base in Tacoma, then to Portland, Oregon where they bought a house and settled down. John worked a lot at the air base. Irene got restless and “did not like sitting and looking at the four walls”. She decided to go to work. For many years she worked as a maid in several hotels in the area and took on private cleaning jobs as well. Soon John retired from the military, worked a few odd jobs, and in his late eighties fell and broke his leg in several places and was placed in a care center. Irene was at his side, day and night, until he died. He was the love of her life. After John’s death, Irene was very lonely, and was determined not to “sit at home and look at the four walls”. Irene loved to clean. She spent the rest of her life working as a housekeeper for several Catholic priests and churches. At age 89, she retired as housekeeper for St. Rita Church. However, she never really quit working. Every morning, for the last three years of her life, she would rise at 4 AM, pray the rosary, eat breakfast and then it was time to go to St. Rita’s to set up for morning Mass. After Mass she would clean everything she could in the chapel and sacristy, check the candles and holy water in the church, put the music or second collection envelopes in the pews and straighten the hymnals. Then, she would go to the office to ask if anything needed to be done. She was lonely and St. Rita’s was her family. She was still trying to find someone to hire her at 92. She loved to keep busy, to be around people and to tell her story. When Irene’s body started to fail, and she was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, it was very hard for her to accept her circumstances. In her 92 years, she had never been seriously ill, never had children, never been in a hospital. So, she prayed unceasingly for a miracle. She loved this life so much and wanted to stay and “keep doing what she was doing for the church”. It was her passion. She was not afraid to die, it was hard for her to let go. Irene was blessed with many friends who knew how much she loved the church, loved to pray and loved the Lord. They lovingly helped her make the transition from this life to the next. Irene died peacefully in the early morning hours of May 11, 2013. She leaves behind sisters Helen Guarno and Genevieve Jacob. Her niece Florence Doherty, her grand-niece Caitlin (William) Nieves, a great grand-nephew Marcus and many, many good friends from the Parkrose area in Portland, Oregon. Irene will be missed by many. As Irene would say at the end of many a story… “and that’s it in a nutshell, Honey!”

Good night, sweet Irene…we love you!

(This life story was put together with the many stories Irene would tell over the years. Some points made and sequences may not be exact