Irene Hansen Blunt, 84, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family on July 11, 2014, after a long and successful life as a wife, mother and grandmother. Born to Mark and Caroline Hansen on December 12, 1929, Irene was the oldest of seven children and was raised on a sugar beet farm in Palmyra, UT. A true farm girl, she loved to tell stories about her childhood from riding a horse to school every morning to finding snakes thinning beets.
After attending Brigham Young University for a short time, Irene moved to Salt Lake City where she met her eternal sweetheart, Ralph H. Blunt. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on November 01, 1951. Ralph and Irene are the parents of seven children, six of which lived to adulthood.
For nearly 26 years, Irene was a surrogate grandmother to her daycare children, who affectionately called her Renie. She had a strong love for the Gospel, and for seven years was an ordinance worker in the Salt Lake Temple. From battling cancer, to traveling the world, Irene has left a great legacy and giant shoes for her posterity to fill.
She is preceded in death by her loving husband, Ralph, and son Randy. Irene is survived by her children: Scott (Lourdes), Chad (Karen), Kerry (Steven G. Mecham), Cory, Blake (Denise), and Melissa (Bruce Barrett). Her 34 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren were the twinkle in her eye.
A viewing will be held Friday, July 18, 2014 at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E. South Temple St., SLC, from 6 to 8 pm and on Saturday, July 19, 2014 from 11-11:45am followed by a graveside service at the Salt Lake Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, Irene and her children would request a donation to the LDS Temple Construction fund in her name.
