IRENE ALMA BURGOON MENSALVAS

IRENE ALMA (STEISS) BURGOON MENSALVAS, 108, of Fort Wayne, died on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, at Lutheran Life Villages. Born Jan. 17, 1904, she was a daughter of the late Charles and Jenny Steiss. She attended grade school at St. John's Lutheran Church from 1909 to 1917, Central High School and business classes. In 1923, she married Samuel Burgoon and raised four children during the Depression. For a brief time, the family lived on a farm, on Ferguson Road, where the airport is now located. During World War II, she was employed in the personnel department at International Harvester until 1952 when she moved to Seattle, Wash. and later to Stockton, Calif. She also lived in Honolulu, Hawaii; Ecuador, South America; and Costa Rica where she was actively involved in the Women's Peace Movement. Before returning to Fort Wayne in 2008, she lived at Friends House, Sandy Spring, Md. and the Washington, D.C. area for 16 years, continuing to be a peace activist. Surviving are her daughter, Patricia Burgoon of Fort Wayne; sons, James (Alice) Burgoon of Frederick, Md. and Richard (Mary) Burgoon of Alajuela, Costa Rica; stepdaughter, Patricia (Ron) Martell of Tonasket, Wash.; stepson, Christopher Mensalvas of Puerto Vallarto, Mexico; 12 grandchildren; 22 great-grand children; eight great-great-grandchildren; and six nieces and nephews. She was also preceded in death by four sisters; two brothers who died in infancy; husbands, Samuel Burgoon and Christopher Mensalvas; and son, Thomas Burgoon. She donated her body to Indiana Anatomy Board. Memorial service will be held at a later date at Lutheran Life Villages.