Irene Sailer

Sailer, Irene She loved sports and loved to travel. Personal relationships and family were most important. On October 22, 2011, Irene Sailer entered eternal life, leaving us all blessed to have known her. Irene was the second youngest of eleven children. Her father, Peter Bosch owned his own business in which she worked while in school. She learned the important values of honesty, integrity and courtesy. She also learned how to be customer oriented, a skill she would use in nursing, the military and in government positions. From her mother, Marean Vetter Bosch, she learned the art of nurturing and her values regarding higher education. In Irene's family she learned an important work ethic, "work first and then play." She attended Roscoe High School in Roscoe, South Dakota. From there she went on to pursue nursing at Presentation School of Nursing in Aberdeen, South Dakota. She graduated in 1951 and received a direct commission in the Air Force in January, 1953. Irene spent the next month in officer training and flight nurse training in Montgomery, Alabama. Her initial assignment was to the hospital at Bolling AFB. Later she was transferred to Rhein Main, Germany and flew aerovac-medical missions where she was involved in patient transportation from September, 1955 to 1957. Next, Irene was transferred to the United States Air Force Hospital at Travis Air Force Base, California until April, 1959. Her last duty station was at the hospital on Shilling Air Force Base in Salina, Kansas. Here she separated from the Air Force in September, 1962. Ms. Sailer was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Air Force Longevity Service Award. After leaving the Air Force, Irene pursued higher education while she was raising her children. She earned a bachelor's degree in Communicative Arts from Bellevue College in Bellevue, Nebraska. Later she earned a master's degree in Environmental Management and Urban Planning from the University of Texas at San Antonio. In her early civilian career, Irene was involved in ensuring that defense sited complied with Federal safety and environmental regulations. Her later work was the Corps of Engineers which involved facilitating the preparation of environmental policies and documentation with high-ranking officials. Ms. Sailer was involved in volunteer service in the Ignatian VOlunteer Corps from 1998 to 2008. She worked at both Food for the Poor in the Northern Virginia area and the St. Martin de Porres senior center. She was dedicated to this work. Irene is survived by a daughter, Joan Saltzmann and her husband Richard and three grandsons; Brandon, Daniel and Andrew as well as a son, John Sailer and his wife Kim. SUrviving sisters include Patricia Parrish, Phllipina Wesen and Elaine Murray. Family and friends will gather Friday, October 28, 2011 at 12:30 PM until a 1:00 PM Memorial Service at The Village of Westland, Wellness Center at 32001 Cherry Hill Road (just west of Merriman) in Westland. Donations may be made in Irene's memory to Lewy Body Dementia Association, 912 Killian Hill Road S.W., Lilburn, GA 30047or log onto www.lbda.org To leave a condolence message or share memories, please use the View and Send Condolences tab on this web page.