Irene Bacus Obituary

Rena, Thank you for the lovely message, I reached back out here as the email service wasn't working. It would be my great humbling honor for you to share my letter with your family at your grandma Irene's service. God bless, I'll be with you all in my prayers and in my heart.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Bacus Family. Irene was quite a character and we enjoyed her company. She lived a good life and now she can rest. Much Love From Dennis and Cyndi Compton and Family

Dear Bacus children and grandchildren - My sister Julie and I (daughters of Barbara Allen, granddaughters to Dorothy and Osborn Allen - very good friends of Irene and Randal) send your entire family our heartfelt love and many thanks for sharing your delightful mother/grandmother with us for many years. She was an absolute treasure!

I think Julie and I owe Irene each about 300 boxes of fiddle faddle... and a 1000 hugs. This marvelous woman had more comedy in her pinky finger naturally than anyone I've ever known! She could make a statue blush with her jokes - make a stop sign turn green with envy over her delivery of wit, and yes - she made me wee my pants a bit in a total fit of giggles once when I was about 9!!!

Irene was a blessing on this earth to remind us all not to take ourselves so seriously - to enjoy laughter - to work hard but play just as hard - and to love the people around us. She and Randal were constantly working. But they had fun at it. They did a lot of their construction work with my grandpa Oz. He trusted Randal implicitly, and he was a good, hard working soul. Irene made the world more colorful and more beautiful with her attitude and her love for her kids and her friends. She and Randal welcomed our family into her home on many occasions (and went with our grandparents on many trips over the years). The stories we have to tell of her and Randal are too numerous and would be for the movies. But I can share that: Irene could make an entire restaurant stop and stare in disbelief at the results of an exploding bottle of powdered sugar with the strength she used to "whack it" over her pancakes..... AND - she could single handedly catch a scoop of ice cream flying off her plate like a pro baseball player and slap it back on her pie no problem. My grandparents witnessed these fantastic episodes - and I think my grandmother said it took a week to get the powdered sugar out of her 1970's aqua net beehive hairdo... so it's true. Irene was a wonderful story teller - would have you transfixed in a second, snorting in three seconds. And Lord help you if you came over during the Price is Right - I think the world stopped for an hour.... You could hear Irene laugh across a football field, and it was a laugh of pure joy. And that woman could roll her eyes and put her hands on her hips in "guffaw" better than anyone my sister and I ever saw - and I think we learned that skill from her completely and mastered it when we were 7 and 9 - to this day!

I learned from Irene and Randal what real true friendship and compassion were. I saw the great friendship they had with my grandparents when I was a small child. I can still see them sitting together at the dining room table, laughing until they cried and waking us kids up to all the commotion of that hilarious laughter. I felt those bear hugs they gave us. I remember endless conversations and being showered with treats, and sleep overs with Krystal. I saw Irene and Randal at grandma Dorothy's service in July 1997 with tears streaming down their faces and holding us so tight with support. They LOVED their friends. And so, it was something I am grateful to have witnessed all my life: Irene and dear Randal had hearts of absolute love and gold.

I know where Irene and Randal are now - in heaven - young and being silly, playing cards, wearing those 1970's polyester pants and new crisp bib overalls, eating ice cream a la mode apple cobbler - with my grandparents, laughing up a storm. And I am grateful for that thought they may be reunited for eternal good times. They lived good lives and deserve it!

Thank you Irene and Randal Bacus, for leaving our family with endless happy memories and stories, and for being such marvelous friends to my beloved grandparents, Dorothy and Oz.

Pass the fiddle faddle, Irene. You're a legend and I love you lady.

Dear Bacus and Gibbs Family,
Knowing your mother and family was one of the best memory makers in my whole life. Your Mother always had such a sense of determination combined with great humor! In actuality we learned a lot from her, about business, about life, and the ability to laugh through it all. She and your father Randal provided more excitement and sense of adventure as well as dedication to tasks at hand than most folks could even imagine.
They helped build early Durango, literally. Your Mom had the same kind of fiery determination as your Grandmother, Violet Smith.
We thank your Mother and family for the wonderful friendships between families throughout our lives. We send our love and condolences and hope to hug a few of you again soon in person. In behalf of my sisters JoAnn and Barbara we send our heartfelt sympathies. Surely your Mother will be sorely missed and always dearly remembered.
Sincerely
Tiki Carpenter and
sisters the `Allen` girls.