Worked for husband’s ins. agency
Published January 28, 2021
NORTH READING — Irene F. (Atkinson) Ivester, 103, of Tuftonboro, N.H., formerly of Sarasota, Fla., and North Reading, died at her home on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021.
She was the beloved wife of the late Kenneth R. Ivester.
Born in Cambridge on Aug. 12, 1917, she was the daughter of the late Samuel and Hilda T. (Thomas) Atkinson.
Irene attended North Reading Grammar Schools and was a graduate of Reading High School. After high school, she worked at the front desk of the New England Sanatarium in North Reading (a tuberculosis hospital). After her children were grown, she worked for her husband, namesake of the Kenneth R. Ivester Insurance Agency in North Reading.
After the death of her husband, she lived in Sarasota for 23 years and had fun in the sun, playing golf, swimming and then moving to an apartment with her daughter JoAnn for 13 years.
Irene was an American Red Cross volunteer for 30 years.
Family members include her loving daughters, JoAnn Andrews and her husband Chad of Center Tuftonboro, N.H., and Diane Bumford of Lebanon, Maine; 12 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. She was the mother of the late Kenneth R. Ivester Jr. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Jeanne Ivester of Salem, N.H., and her daughters-in-law, Cecilia Lawton and Susan Ivester.
Irene’s funeral service will be held at the Croswell Funeral Home, 19 Bow St., North Reading, on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 11 a.m. Calling hours will be held prior to the service from 10 to 11 a.m. Interment will be in Riverside Cemetery in North Reading.
Memorial donations may be made in her name to the Lakes Region Humane Society, Ossipee, N.H., or to the Tuftonboro Fire Department. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.croswellfuneralhome.com.
