Irene E. Courtney

Irene E. Courtney, of Sellersville, passed away peacefully at her home on Wednesday, September 21, 2016. She was 95.

She was the beloved wife of the late Edward B. Courtney, Sr. for 44 years until his death in 1994.

Born in Sharon, Mercer County, she was the daughter of the late John and Anna (Zbur) Verostick. Irene graduated from Catasauqua High School and then earned her RN from Sacred Heart Hospital, Allentown.

Irene was a U.S. Army veteran, having served as a 1st Lieutenant in the Philippine Islands during the closing months of World War II.

Following her return to civilian life, Irene fell in love with and married Edward B. Courtney, Sr. in 1950. The family, which would eventually include a raucous brood of seven girls and one boy, would move to Sellersville in 1957.

For more than 50 years, Mrs. Courtney was a member of St. Agnes Catholic Church, Sellersville, where she was involved with the Mothers’ Guild when her children were young.

All of the children were raised with love to be free thinking individuals with a clear recognition of their unique gifts and idiosyncrasies.

A woman of great generosity, humor, and kindness, Irene became the “neighborhood nurse,” caring for every child or adult who needed comfort, care, and acceptance. Always curious about the world, she was a lifetime reader and learner and music lover.

Irene’s outlook on life is reflected in the closing lines of “Comes the Dawn,” her favorite poem, “And you learn and learn ... and you learn / with every goodbye you learn.”

Mrs. Courtney is survived by her sister, Margaret Verostick, of Whitehall; eight children, Anna Sue Courtney, of Huntsville, AL; Eileen Candrella and her husband, Joseph, of Center Valley; Margaret Crott and her husband, Raymond, of Wilmington, NC; Geraldine Mulloy, of Quakertown; Patricia Courtney, of Sellersville; Catherine Courtney, of Pinellas Park, FL; Edeen McPeak and her husband, Patrick, of Quakertown; and Edward B. Courtney, Jr., of Sellersville; eleven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by two brothers, John Verostick and Carl Verostick, and a sister, Anna Schanen.

Her Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, September 27, in St. Agnes Catholic Church, 445 North Main Street, Sellersville, PA 18960, where a visitation will be held from 9:30 - 10:45 a.m.

Interment with full military honors will follow in Sellersville Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the local food pantry, Pennridge FISH, P.O. Box 9, Perkasie, PA 18944.