Irene May Carey (nee Hanson)

Irene May Carey (nee Hanson) was borne to John and Elizabeth Hanson on 23 November 1924 at Pt Adelaide and was affectionately called 'Bubby' amongst her family and friends.

Bubby was the youngest child of six, with only her elder sister Mary still surviving. She is represented here today by her granddaughter Debra.

She was educated at Pt Adelaide Primary and High Schools and after completing year 10, left school at the age of 16 to work in a laundry until she started a business with her sister Mary. Together they leased a property and operated a small takeaway shop. They lived together behind the shop with her parents for some years.

It was here that Irene (an Anglican) first met her devoted husband Ronald Douglas Carey (a catholic), who swept her off her feet and married her on the 18th of June 1949 in St Paul's Church of England, Port Adelaide. In those days mixed religious marriages were usually frowned upon but both parents supported the union. In fact, Ron's parents were absolutely delighted. It turned out that his father had previously met Irene, on his many trips to the Port and was impressed by the young lady. To his surprise he had only found this out when he took Irene to meet his parents.

Ron and Irene courted for 7 months before they decided to tie the knot. They lived with Irene's parents straight after their marriage for around nine months, until they sold the business and purchased a block land at 28 Pym Street, Croydon Park, where they have lived happily together for over 53 years.

Irene helped her husband dig the foundations, mixed the mortar, carted bricks, and carried heavy wooden beams. They both worked very hard together to literally build the house around their family. It was no wonder that Irene was proud of her house and had no real desire to travel. She just enjoyed the solitude of her home and family.

Irene was a very generous, kind and big-hearted woman who was completely devoted to her four children and family. She worked very hard at supporting their education by sacrificing an easier life style to ensure that they were educated at St Michaels and the catholic system. She worked hard each day attending to the needs of the family and then was often seen spending her free time supervising homework. She gave freely of her time and energy to support the schools by spending many hours working in the tuckshops of both St Margaret Mary's and at St Michael's. She spent time cleaning the church, washing and making altar boy gowns. She taught Sunday school.

She was always there for family and friends. At family functions she cooked up a storm. Rarely did she miss a family event or nephew or neices milestone. She loved cooking and sought out cookbooks in order to improve her culinary skills.

Ron Douglas Carey Senior