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adapted from Irene DeRoche’s eulogy
Carriacou, part of the nation of Grenada, is a tiny island in the Caribbean—very tiny, only seven by two miles. In 1961, it was very isolated, and though it is tropical and has beautiful beaches, very few tourists found their way there.
That’s the year that three women from Madonna House—Trudi Cortens, Marité Langlois, and Elsie Whitty—opened a house there.
Naturally the staff got to know their neighbors, and by the design of God, one of them was Irene DeRoche, a girl of twelve, who was being raised by her grandmother.
It was natural for her to hang out at Madonna House and help the ladies, and she eventually worked at the medical clinic and handicraft co-op they founded.
Irene started showing signs of desiring to join Madonna House, and on March 9, 1969, the birthday of the director, Trudi Cortens, she went to live there as a working guest. Trudi considered her, her birthday gift, and the relationship between the two was to be deep and life-long.
Irene became an applicant, had her formation in Carriacou, and made first promises, thus becoming a member, in 1972. (She was not the first Carriacou vocation.)
Irene’s grandmother, though she liked Madonna House, was not happy about this, but soon came around. The sign of her acceptance was a simple one; she went over to Irene and kissed her cross. This was a grace and blessing for which Irene was very grateful.
Irene served in Madonna House in Carriacou until it closed eight years later. Catherine Doherty, in writing about our houses in the West Indies, said, “It seemed as if the Lord was leading us by some sort of lovely thread calling us to a pilgrimage and not letting go, for he held one end of the thread and we the other.”
This seems to be a beautiful image of Irene’s life also—God holding one end of the thread and she the other. And she never let go. Her love of God and her faith were very strong.
Irene next went to our house in Barbados, and then in 1981, she went with Trudi and Rosemary Horan to open a house in Toronto.
That foundation certainly had its challenges. When they moved there, they didn’t have a building for a house. While they were looking for one, they lived with various friends in five or six different places.
Then when they finally found a house—nine months later!—they were faced with restoring it. And all during this time, they were engaged in a very active apostolate.
Among other things, the house reached out to the hearing-impaired community, and Irene was asked to take this on.
She studied sign language, which she quickly absorbed, and attended their weekly meetings. She signed for them at Sunday Mass, taught catechism, and formed a hearing-impaired choir. Not least of all, she made many friends in this group.
Irene loved to cook and was very good at it. She also collected recipes from many cultures. She had a wonderful memory for people and events, and if she knew you liked a particular dish, she would remember this and delight in making it for you.
We cannot fail to mention Irene’s childlike heart. For most of us in Madonna House, this is a quality we hope to grow into by God’s grace, but for Irene, it was almost natural.
Let it be said that Irene loved to joke and laugh, and let it also be said that she was stubborn. If it was in the domain of her kitchen or in dorm life with alarm clocks or lights, you had to recognize that you were meeting an immovable force.
Irene had a heart for the little ones. She herself had suffered enough that she could sense the distress of others and could reach out easily to anyone in pain. In groups, she was often a quiet presence, but one-to-one, Irene made many loyal friends.
Irene was not shy to encourage people to pray, and she prayed with them. She carried many intentions in her heart. After she died, a number of people mentioned how Irene had offered them a novena or a special prayer for some particular need.
Two years ago, Irene was assigned to St. Joseph’s House in Combermere. Leaving Toronto, where she had lived for 36 years, was not easy for her, but she embraced her new house with courage and graciousness.
What stood out for those living with her during this time of transition was her love of God and neighbor. She wanted to live the Gospel and that meant loving others—by hospitality and welcome, by forgiveness, and by acts of service.
Irene had many friends as could be seen from the numerous emails and cards of condolence that we received and especially the number of people who came to her funeral. Over thirty made the four-hour drive from Toronto.
I’m sure they would all join us in saying, “Thank you, Lord, for Irene’s life.”
