Irene Corbett

Irene, age 88, died on Sept. 24, 2024, in Astera Health Hospital in Wadena after a brief illness. She had been a resident of The Meadows in Wadena since January 2024 after about five years in Fair Oaks Apartments. She moved to Wadena from Surprise, Ariz., in 2019 following the death of her husband, Ronald T. Corbett, on the day after Christmas in 2017.

Irene was born the sixth of nine children and youngest daughter to Joseph and Olivia (Zahler) Langer on Nov. 24, 1935, in their home in Bluffton, Minn. (Mrs. Bill “Ma Kate” Geiser was the midwife.) Irene attended St. John the Baptist Catholic Parochial School in Bluffton through the eighth grade. She attended St. Francis High School in Little Falls, Minn., graduating with the class of 1953. She subsequently attended the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul and taught elementary school in St. Cloud and Osakis for a few years before assuming various positions in the Minneapolis area. She retired as the office manager for the Hennepin Technical College. While at Hennepin, Irene chaperoned cosmetology students on annual summer training trips to Barcelona, Paris and London from 1978 to 1982.

Irene was united in marriage to Ronald Timothy Corbett of Minneapolis in the Church of the Holy Name in Minneapolis, MN on Aug. 26, 1967. They resided in Minneapolis, Plymouth and Maple Grove, the latter in a home they designed together. (Ron was a draftsman). Upon retiring, they moved to Surprise, Ariz. Irene excelled there in volunteer work. With expertise in early computers, she managed volunteers at a local hospital, printed greeting cards and organized block parties. Clearly, however, her strongest commitment was to St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in Surprise. She assisted the Pastor with design inside the new church, served as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, and, for many years every Friday afternoon, set up the sanctuary for Benediction, locking the church afterwards.

Preceding Irene in death were her husband, Ronald; her parents, Joseph and Olivia Langer; her brothers and sisters Reinhold G. (Isabelle) Langer; Sister Lydia Langer OSF; Bernadette (Arlan) King; Richard Langer (Mary); and brother-in-law, Rich Geiser (Agnes).

Survivors treasuring memories of Irene include her dear sister, Agnes Geiser, now at The Meadows of Wadena; brothers Alfred (Barbara) of Grand Forks, N.D.; Ben (Zerrin), Lecanto, Fla.; Leo (Helen), Marshall, Minn; sister-in-law Mary Langer, Wadena, MN; sister-in-law, Mitzi (Mary) Patterson of Minneapolis; brother-in-law, Patrick Corbett of Anoka; and an extended family composed of many nephews, nieces and their children. Irene would acknowledge especially three nieces who did so much to care for her in her final years: Kathleen (Sam)Waln; Wendy (Richard) Rankka; and Lynn (Scott) Putzke.

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