Irene E. Saur-Jones
November 26, 1918 - February 24, 2018
Irene Saur-Jones died at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics at the age of 99 years and 3 months. According to her family, Irene had no true desire to live such a long life, but she did her best to enjoy each day as it came to her. She enjoyed staying connected to people and worldly affairs by watching TV and reading her iPad. Irene felt blessed to be surrounded by her loving family and friends, and rarely voiced a complaint.
She learned to play the piano in her youth, paying for her piano lessons with the 25 cents her older brother gave to her each week. After moving to Davenport in 1956, she was asked to learn to play the organ for her church. That was the beginning of her 42-year commitment as a devoted church organist.
Following the death of her second husband, Irene moved from Arizona back to Iowa to be closer to her family. During those last 20 years of her life, Irene battled stage IV chronic kidney disease and became a patient
in the Nephrology Clinic at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. When Irene died, her son honored her request to be an eye donor for Iowa Lions Eye Bank, realizing Irene's generous gift would help further the cause of sight restoration through research.
