June “Irene” Meeks Schou passed quietly, surrounded by her family, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024 in Palm Desert, CA. She is preceded in death by her parents and her husband of 66 years, L.R. “Dick” Schou.
Irene was born in 1928, the only child of Andrew James and Elva Meeks in Buhl, ID. She attended Twin Falls High School, and then the University of Idaho in Moscow where she attained a Bachelor of Science degree and her secondary teaching certification. In 1970 she obtained a Masters Degree in English at Idaho State University.
Her childhood was split between the rural Magic Valley, and the Upper Board Ranch in the Wood River Valley where her family spent many summer days.
She married Dick in 1948, and they moved to American Falls, where he began his law career, and she began a lifetime teaching career; first in the junior high, then middle school, then the American Falls High School.
They purchased a small cabin near Easley Store and Plunge in the Sawtooth National Forest, and for 15 years spent summers there with their daughters.
In retirement in 1985 Irene and Dick pursued a life-long dream and moved first to Victoria, BC, and then permanently to Sidney, BC, where they bought a sailboat, took sailing lessons, and spent the next 20 years sailing the Straits of Juan de Fuca.
They also bought a small condominium in Palm Desert, and spent over 20 years there enjoying the warm winter sun. After Dick’s death in 2014 Irene elected to make Palm Desert her fulltime residence.
Irene was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, where she developed her love of and skill at bridge. She was a member of the Order of Eastern Star. She was a 70 year member of the PEO Sisterhood, and participated actively in chapters in American Falls, Sidney, BC, and most recently Palm Desert.
She leaves behind her daughters, June Van Horne (Russ), and Susan McBryant (David); grandchildren, Annie Olson and AJ Wakewood; and great-grandchildren Eleanor Olson, Leon Olson, Billy Wakewood and Andy Wakewood.
A private family memorial will be held in spring.
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