Irene Jessie Mann was born on January 12, 1933 in Tisdale, Saskatchewan to Albert and Jessie (Stevenson) Burgess. She passed away in Tisdale Hospital on May 12, 2026, after a brief illness.

Irene grew up on the family farm in the Napoleon district, west of Sylvania and south of Valparaiso, with her 5 brothers. She attended Napoleon School until Grade 10, and then boarded in Tisdale to complete Grade 12. Following high school, Irene attended Normal School in Saskatoon and then taught at Eastman and Napoleon schools for a few years. Irene married John Allan (Jack) Mann on August 17, 1955. Together they raised 3 children and were lucky to celebrate 69 years of marriage in 2024.

Irene had many roles and interests in life. She loved being Mrs. Jack Mann and was very supportive of Jack in all his endeavours. Being a farmer’s wife was definitely something she was proud of. She was very interested and dedicated to life and work on the farm including taking meals to the field, driving grain trucks, going to the elevator, feeding pigs, chasing cattle, knowing what the grain was testing and yielding, and always being the “go-fer”. She did lots of gardening, canning and cooking. She loved to bake- especially buns. Jack enjoyed fresh buns once a week until they were well into their 90s.

Irene was very dedicated to her family. In her early days, she was a busy, caring Mom. Later, she loved hearing all about and visiting with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and may have even bragged about them on occasion. She adored meeting all the new babies, spouses, and their friends. She was always very interested in their activities and accomplishments, and never missed sending a birthday card and gift. Irene was also very proud of her 5 brothers, and they were all so good to her. Living close, they saw each other almost daily, as her brothers would often stop in for a quick visit. Their joke was that they only had one sister, and she became a “Mann”. She also very much enjoyed keeping in touch with her extended family and enjoyed a good telephone visit.

Irene was very interested in sports. She was the captain of her high school girls’ hockey team, and according to legend, her Dad told her she was a better player than any of her brothers. She also bowled, curled, attended exercise classes, and watched lots of curling on TV. She, along with Jack, attended thousands of hockey games, ball games, curling games and other activities to cheer on family members.

Irene loved music. She was a talented piano player and could play well by reading notes or by ear. She loved to play while others sang and danced. She also loved to listen to music, especially the live entertainment at Cumberland Villa. She and Jack loved to dance throughout their lives. They square danced, attended dances in all the surrounding communities, and she did line dancing for exercise.

Irene had many hobbies over the years. She liked her flowers, especially pink petunias. In her earlier years, she did lots of sewing. She liked to crochet and knit, especially in her later years when she would search YouTube for new patterns or ideas. Since moving into Cumberland Villas, she had found a new passion in painting, drawing and completing various types of artwork. She also was able to learn new card games and had so much fun playing games with her friends. Irene was also an |Ipad addict, and would spend hours scanning Facebook, sharing music and photos, playing games, and researching everything that she was curious about. She occasionally got herself into trouble with technology and had to ask for immediate assistance.

Irene enjoyed spending time with others. She liked to spend time with neighbours and friends whether it be dancing, singing, playing cards or just visiting. Irene and Jack loved to go on group tours and went on about 25 winter trips to various places in the U.S., Spain, Australia, Costa Rica and many others. Church was always important to Irene. She was an active member of the Eastman Homemakers Club and the United Church Women for many years.

Although Irene only taught school for a few years, she always thought of herself as a teacher, and loved to see her former students. She loved listening to kids read and was always proud when she was asked to judge 4H speeches.

Irene liked things to look nice. She loved getting her hair done and getting new clothes. She also took great pride in having a neat and clean house, a weeded garden with very straight rows, a mowed lawn, neat handwriting and making sure her family was well-kept.

Irene was predeceased by her beloved husband, Jack, her infant son Dale, her brothers Gordon, Roy, Lloyd and Les, her brothers-in-law Alex and Orval and sisters-in-law Edna, Nellie, Connie and Angie.

She is survived by her three children: Allan(Debbie), Shirley (Don DeMarsh) and Darrell (Kim); 8 grandchildren: Chantelle(Chris) Dallyn, Dayne (Katie) DeMarsh, Desirée (Connor) Yeo, Kacie (Dylan) Wilkinson, Morgan, Matthew (MaryLynn), Miranda (Riley) and Melissa Mann and great grandchildren: Beckett, Maclain and Kinley Dallyn, Baylor, Murphy, Winnie and Midge DeMarsh, Ashlyn, Emmett and Merrick Yeo, and Layne and Cole Wilkinson. She is also survived by her brother Bob, brother-in-law Alec, sisters-in-law Sherry, Ellen, Darlene and Betty, many much loved nieces and nephews and many friends.

Irene had aspired to outlive her Dad’s 99 years. She felt that she still had things to learn, crafts to make, friends to meet, babies to hold, games to play and music to enjoy. But she was blessed with 93 years and has left a growing family to carry on her legacy.