Irene Ossenberg

Irene was born the only daughter and middle child of three in East Germany in 1937. As a young child the front line of World War II was close to home. Her father put the family on a train for safety. That was the last she ever saw or heard him. For seven years her mother and brothers lived in a one room home in a refugee camp in Denmark. Eventually after the war they were able to go back to their village outside of Berlin.

She emigrated to the US in 1958 where she worked in the Dietary Department at Bethany Deaconess Hospital in New York City. During this time unbeknownst to her, she met her future husband, Martin (predeceased this past May), of 58 years. While he went into the US Air Force, she moved to the Chicago area to be closer to relatives where she worked at Cook Publishing. After a short courtship they were married on December 7, 1963, and they moved to Texas and had their first daughter, Kerstin. After a few years they moved to Upstate New York where their second daughter, Michele was born. Irene was a full-time homemaker as well as providing part time secretarial support for her husband in the family construction business.

Irene was very active in her church in Syracuse. She enjoyed altar guild as well as visiting parishioners who were homebound. She also loved working in her flower garden and always had fresh flowers around her home. Irene very much cherished her family and friends and loved visits and phone calls. Her favorite visits were with her grandchildren.

Irene was an amazing cook. She had the talent of grabbing unrelated items and turning them into a five-star meal. Irene also excelled at German desserts. Her two granddaughters, Lisa and Jen, especially loved her roast beef, gravy, and mashed potatoes, and then her strawberry Jell-O with lemon creamed Jell-O for dessert; while her grandson, Jarod, particularly enjoyed her tenderloin with salt potatoes, and baloney, and salami sandwiches on hard rolls. She delighted in hosting dinner parties where no one was ever allowed to leave hungry.

In 2019 they moved to Winston-Salem to enjoy their retirement days away from the snow and cold of Upstate New York.

She is survived by her two daughters Kerstin Walker (Wesley) of NC and Michele Brice (Larry) of PA, and three grandchildren, (Lisa, Jen, and Jarod).

Services will be held at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Winston-Salem, NC on Friday, November 19 at 10:30am. Memorials may be made to St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2415 Silas Creek Pkwy, Winston-Salem, NC 27103