Mary Irene Balch

COTUIT — Mary Irene (Sullivan) Balch, of Cotuit, died Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008.

She was the wife for 61 years of the late George E. Balch, mother of Sheila M. (Balch) Butts, grandmother of Brendan Michael, Sean Michael and Kathleen Mary Butts, and mother-in-law of Michael J. Butts, all of Newton Centre. She is also survived by her nephews, Michael Drew Sullivan and Andrew Partridge, her niece, Martha Gaudes, and many great-nieces and great-nephews.

She was born in Keene, N.H., the daughter of Irene (Griffin) and Michael Sullivan. Her two brothers, Francis and Robert, and nephew, George Sullivan, predeceased her. Irene was raised in Keene and graduated from Keene High School, where she was an outstanding basketball and field hockey player, and the Dresser Business School. She was employed as secretary to the administrator of the Elliot Community Hospital in Keene during World War II, and following her marriage in 1946, as a secretary at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. From 1948 to 1953, she worked at the State House in Concord, N.H., and as the personal secretary for a local novelist.

Irene, George and Sheila lived in Pennsylvania and New Jersey between 1955 and 1984. Irene returned to work in 1971 as executive secretary to the corporate director of Taxes for Allied Corp. She and her husband, who also worked for Allied, commuted together to New York City and subsequently to Morristown, N.J., for 10 years until she retired.

When George retired in 1984, they moved to Cotuit.

Irene was an avid reader, loved history and politics, and enjoyed vacation travels with her husband and friends, including trips to Europe and throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. She was particularly proud of her Irish heritage and a highlight vacation was her trip with her husband and daughter to Ireland.

Other activities she was involved in included Girl Scouts of America, Osterville Garden Club, and Barnstable Knitters Club. She and her husband were among the founding members of the Parish of Christ the King in Mashpee, where she served as an Eucharistic minister and as a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, volunteering as a hospital visitor and at the food pantry.

Visiting hours will be today in the John-Lawrence Funeral Home, 3778 Falmouth Road (Route 28), Marstons Mills, from 4 to 6 p.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, at 10 a.m., in the Chapel at Christ King Church, Mashpee Commons, Mashpee.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alzheimer's Services of Cape Cod and Islands, 712 Main St., Hyannis, MA 02601.