Irene Worcester Giles

Irene Worcester Giles passed away March 23, 2016 in Austin, Texas. Irene was born February 23, 1925 to Edwin and Ethel Worcester in Vernon Connecticut. During WWII, she trained as a registered nurse and administered care to wounded servicemen. After the war, she was invited by a nursing school pal to accompany her back home to a ranch in Decatur, Texas. On a lark and showing great spunk for a single woman in those days, she accepted the invitation and spent several months with the host family on the ranch. She surprised folks with a better than fair amount of horse skills for a Yankee girl. After a while she found employment as a nurse in Dallas. She met the love of her life, Joe Howard Giles, at a YMCA dance in Dallas and they were married in 1947. Irene practiced nursing in Lubbock while Joe attended Texas Tech where he received an Engineering degree. Their union produced three children, Grady, Peggy and Carol. Joe and Irene lived most of their lives together in Houston where they raised their family and attended First Christian Church. Irene was a homemaker until the children were through elementary school at which time she resumed her nursing career. She retired in 1987.

Throughout her life, she enjoyed many arts and crafts hobbies, such as painting, photography, sewing, crochet and especially cross stitch. Many friends and family members have received intricately detailed, framed cross stitch art. Over the years, she crocheted many hundreds of items for cancer patients and premies. She enjoyed and orchestrated many family camping trips in the Ozarks and elsewhere. She and Joe moved to Austin in 2010 to be closer to Grady and Carol and joined Central Christian Church.

She is predeceased by her parents and sister Della Gardner, daughter Peggy Kliesing and granddaughter Jaime Kliesing.

Irene is survived by her husband, Joe Howard; sister, Marion Johnston; son, Grady Giles; daughter-in-law, Charissa Giles; daughter, Carol Pyron; son-in-law, Dillon Pyron; son-in-law, Ray Kliesing; grandson, Tyler (Lani) Giles; granddaughter, Katy (Hector) Weir; grandson, Kevin Kliesing; and great-granddaughter, Kit Weir.

Visitation will be held from 9:45 am – 11:00 am on Saturday, March 26, 2016 at Central Christian Church, 1110 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas 78701 with Funeral Services to begin at 11:00 am. Private family burial.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.