Valerie Swaner talked with Irene not long before she passed and sent these words:

Irene was a "Lost Leopard" I contacted by phone in 2021. We had a long conversation about her life. Her Las Vegas casino stories were wild. She believed she had a sixth sense about when slot machines were going to payout. Winners were big tippers and she was able to support herself and her two sons quite well. I didn't really remember her from Ensign Elementary, but she attended school there too. She was in attendance at the 50th Reunion in 2021. She was in a wheelchair and excited to be there! I was thinking about her this evening and found her obituary. She died in 2022.