Obituary: Irene Elizabeth (Simons) Douglass

Irene Elizabeth (Simons) Douglass, 94, of Prescott, Arizona passed away on Nov. 15, 2015 at the Prescott Good Samaritan Village. She was born on Nov. 30, 1920 in Lindsay, Texas to the late George and Mary (Reinart) Simons.

She graduated High School in Carlsbad, New Mexico. In 1942, she graduated from The Hotel Dieu School of Nursing in El Paso, Texas. She was a First Lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corp in Axminster, England.

Irene and her husband James owned two funeral homes in New Mexico. In 1976, they purchased The Douglass Funeral

Home in Ajo, Arizona. Irene managed the funeral home after James' death in 1982, until her retirement in 1990. She moved to Prescott, Arizona in 1999 and remained active in veterans' organizations and the Sacred Heart Parish. She spent the last two years of her life with her daughter and son-in-law in Prescott. She continued to enjoy being with her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents; brother Arthur Simons; husband James E. Douglass Sr.; son James E. Douglass Jr.

She is survived by her daughter Merle Ann (Doug) Crow, grandchildren, Lara (Mark) Stafford, Ryan (Yumiko) Thowson, Kim (Chris) Harnes, Lynn Thowson, Devin Douglass and his mother Deborah Reardon; great grandchildren; Trenton, Nathan, Natalie Stafford, Huey, Hailey, Audrey Thowson, and Lily Harris; sisters, Patricia Baker of Tucson and Margaret Green of Colorado Springs; sister-in-law Ruth Means of Valentine, Texas; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation was from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, at Heritage Memory Mortuary, 131 Grove Ave., Prescott, Arizona.

Funeral Mass will be 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, at the Prescott VA Chapel, 500 N. Highway 89, Prescott, Arizona.

A committal service with Military Honors will be 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015 at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 N. Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, Arizona.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the Community Pregnancy Center, 1124 E. Gurley St., Prescott, AZ 86301 or St. Vincent de Paul, 120 N. Summit, Prescott, AZ 86301.

Please visit www.heritagemortuary.com to sign Irene's online guestbook. Services entrusted to Heritage Memory Mortuary.

Information provided by survivors.