Irene F. McGee

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of Irene Francis McGee, on January 12, 2024  at the age of 98.

She was predeceased by: parents, Ross W. and Hulda E. (Jensen) Luttrell; brothers Lyle Luttrell and Richard Luttrell; husbands Harry E. McGee Jr. and Louis W. Halbert; sons David M. Halbert and Steven R. Halbert; stepdaughter Vonnie (Jack) Potts and stepson Harry E. McGee, III. 

Irene is survived by daughter Cynthia Halbert Taylor; son Michael R. Halbert (Susan Uresti); grandsons Justin Halbert (Taylor Ann), Aaron Halbert (Juliana), and Nathan Halbert; great-grandson, Emerson Halbert; stepdaughters Kathy Obering (Roland), Terri Voglein (Mike), and Lisa Beatty (Tim); step-grandchildren; step-great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.

Irene was born in Minneapolis, MN on July 26, 1925, and moved with her parents and two older brothers (who adored her) to Watford City, ND in 1929. In high school, she played clarinet in the marching band, and she enjoyed going to dances in nearby towns with her brothers. After her mother died when Irene was 12, her aunt thought Irene should learn to play piano. She loved to play, she accompanied her brothers when they sang, often played for church services, and she played for enjoyment for most of her life. Her daughter especially remembers Irene pounding out boogie-woogie tunes, and she often played Christmas and Holiday songs for the family. After high school, she worked at the Gambles Store in Watford City for a year before nurse’s training.

She received her Registered Nurse (RN) degree in 1948 from Trinity Hospital School of Nursing in Minot, ND through the Cadet Nurse Corps and worked at Trinity as a charge nurse on a medical and surgical floor. In Minot, she met and married Louis W. (Bill) Halbert in 1949, and they moved to Omaha, NE, his hometown, where they raised their 4 children.

After Bill’s death in 1976, she married Harry E. McGee, Jr. in 1979 and became stepmother to his 5 children. Since most of their children were grown and out of the house, it wasn’t quite the Brady Bunch, but there were many lively family gatherings with a variety of children, their spouses, and grandchildren. Irene and Harry had many happy years together. After retiring, she from a 25 year career in nursing at Immanuel Hospital and at a doctors’ office, and he from his dental practice, they enjoyed square dancing and were active in church at Miller Park Presbyterian church, where she was a deacon and was active with the Presbyterian Women, and at Mount View Presbyterian Church. They also enjoyed flower and vegetable gardening, exercise, learning to use computers, camping and fishing for trout in Colorado and Nebraska, and visiting family in North Dakota, Colorado, Florida, California, and Chicago; family was very important to Irene. She was an accomplished seamstress, often making clothes for family and quilts with her church sewing group. And she loved to bake, making birthday cakes for kids and grandkids, wonderful fruit pies, and the best Swedish tea rings and cookies for the holidays.

After Harry’s death in 2013, Irene moved to Immanuel Village independent living in Omaha in 2017. There she enjoyed meeting new people, playing cards, and participating in many activities. She was known for her friendly nature, her bright smile, and her wry sense of humor. In 2022, she moved to assisted living in Lincoln, NE, near her daughter. The staff there say that “she always made them laugh” and she loved to joke with them.

A recent fall and broken arm proved to be too much from which Irene could recover. A few days prior to her death, she said she was ready to go to heaven, and she passed comfortably and peacefully in the loving care of the Hospice Unit at Bryan West Hospital in Lincoln, surrounded by family.

Irene will be greatly missed by all her knew her. As her niece said, she was “a very special ray of sunshine who spent 98 years bringing happiness to so many!”

Visitation will be Wednesday (1/17/2024) from 5 – 7 PM at Roeder Mortuary – Ames Chapel. Funeral Service Thursday (1/18/2024) 11:00 AM at Mount View Presbyterian Church, 5308 Hartman Ave, Omaha NE 68104. Burial at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Omaha NE.

Roeder Mortuary, 4932 Ames Ave, Omaha NE 68104 (402) 453-5600 www.RoederMortuary.com