Irene (Demant) Hobrath, beloved wife, mother, Omi, sister, aunt, cousin, and sweet friend to many, passed away on April 7, 2024, at the age of 73.
Daughter of Friedrich and Natalie (Rode) Demant, Irene was born in Aachen, Germany, during the rebuilding of Germany, after the close of World War II. In December of 1955, when Irene was five, they immigrated to the US and joined family already settled in Huntington, NY.
It was at Bethel Park one summer as a young teen, that Irene looked out of the window of their lodging and noticed a young man named Henry Hobrath, and famously thought to herself “Never him…” In 1968, Irene graduated high school and took her first job as a secretary working for Allstate Insurance Company and began to spread her wings. Eventually, through family friends in South Jersey, she would once again cross paths with Henry Hobrath, but this time she would see him in a much different light. They married in 1972 and would go on to celebrate over 51 years of marriage together! They welcomed their daughter Janette into their lives and built their first home with the help of family and friends.
After retirement and nearly forty years of living in New Jersey, Henry and Irene moved to Springfield, Missouri to live near their daughter and son-in-law, and eventually, granddaughter.
Funeral services took place on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at Evangel Temple, followed by a burial at Missouri Veterans Cemetery.