Irene Hopfinger, age 73, went to be with her Savior on July 20, 2019 at West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger, ND surrounded by her husband and four children.

The Funeral Service for Irene will be held at 10:30am MT, Thursday, July 25, 2019 at St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lemmon.  Pastor Mark Weis will officiate with burial in Greenhill Cemetery at Lemmon.

A Family Service will be held at 7:00pm on Wednesday evening, July 24, 2019 at the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon.

Irene (Schwarz) Hopfinger was born September 23, 1945 to William F and Esther (Scheid) Schwarz.  She was the fourth of six children and has a twin brother Otto Schwarz.  She was born in Beulah, ND.

She was raised on the family farm south of Hazen.  She attended elementary and high school in Hazen, ND.  While in high school Irene worked as a nurse's aide at the local hospital and later moved to Hettinger, ND where she continued to work as a nurse's aide.

In 1965 Irene met the love of her life, Lanny Hopfinger and it was love at first sight.  On April 16, 1966 Lanny and Irene were united in Holy Matrimony.

Irene worked several different jobs over the years.  One of her favorite jobs was doing in home daycare.  Irene also worked at Wheeler Manufacturing, Ben Franklin, Live Inc as a residential coordinator, and Dollar Plus.

Irene belonged to St. Luke's Lutheran Church where she taught Sunday School, sang in the choir and helped as needed.  She was a 4-H leader and president of the PTO.

Irene's past times included baking, sewing, crafting, crocheting, quilting, gardening and mostly spending time with her family and loved ones.

She is survived by her husband of 53 years Lanny; one son Marcus (Deborah) Hopfinger, White, SD; three daughters Angela (Garry) Lane,  Lemmon, SD; Leah (Kurt) Petik, Fond du Lac, WI; Felicia (Travis) Watson, Sioux Falls, SD; ten grandchildren Adele & Elyse Hopfinger, Amanda (Teal) Letellier, Zachary Fischer, Grant, Kiya and Irelyn Petik, Neka, Madison and Noah Watson;  four step-grandchildren Isaac Pudas, Jordan Lane, Emily (Gered) Marlow, and Taylor Lane; two great-grandchildren Kai and Luna Letellier; two brothers Ray (Priscilla) Schwarz, Minot, ND; Otto (Connie) Schwarz, Hettinger, ND; one sister Marietta (Warren) Sakshaug, Byron Center, MI;  two brother-in-law's Dennis (Carolyn) Hopfinger, Brookings, SD, Brian (Darlene) Hopfinger, Lemmon, SD and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents; mother-in-law Florence Touchet; one sister Norma Summerfield; one brother Alfried Schwarz and his wife Linda Schwarz.

Visitation will be on Wednesday from 1:00 to 7:00pm at the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon.