Irene Harmon

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https://zoom.us/j/91462353031
(meeting ID: 914 6235 3031)

Irene Rose Denison Harmon of Mesa, Arizona passed away peacefully at her home on Thursday, January 27, three weeks before her 83rd birthday. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Sherril Allan Harmon and a daughter, Xana. Irene is survived by three siblings: Annette (Ted) Fitzgerald, Joyce (Bob) Gardner, Richard Amel (SuEllen) Denison and six children: Trudy (John) Fjeldsted, Laurel (Tim) Cronin, Pamela (Jon) Nielson, Lanett (Francis) Ho Ching, Corwin Sherril (Jeana) Harmon, Sherlene Harmon, 23 grandchildren and 47 great-grandchildren.

Irene was born on February 21, 1939, to Amel J Denison and Rose Huntington Denison in Castle Dale, Utah at the home of her maternal grandparents. She recalled having a “happy childhood,” growing up in Price, Utah. As a youth, Irene enjoyed singing and dancing for church, school, and community events. She often performed in a quartet, “Harmony Four.” In 10th grade, Irene was selected to represent her school in the Western States Music Conference Choir in California. On this trip, she met her eternal sweetheart, Sherril Harmon, who was in the 12th grade. Irene and Sherril began a four-year courtship, mostly long-distance. In 1958, Irene attended LDS Business College in Salt Lake City. She completed the one-year coursework in nine months. Fulfilling a dream to become a secretary, she took a job as receptionist for Skyline Oil Company.

On June 12, 1959, Irene and Sherril were married and sealed for eternity in Manti, Utah LDS Temple. For the next 25 years, their lives would span the United States from New York to California, adding to their family along the way. Irene used to say that her children’s birthplaces read like a road map.

While raising her own children, Irene spent ten years (1972-82) devotedly caring for 24 foster babies, naming them after letters from the alphabet, A to Z. One very special foster baby with severe disabilities, Xana, was adopted and sealed to the family in Provo, Utah LDS Temple.

After her children were grown, Irene returned to work as a receptionist for Cardinal Health for 18 years. She retired in October 2008 to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with her husband. Together, they directed the Mesa Regional Family History Center for nine years.

Irene will be remembered for her faith in God, her love of family, and her hope to live eternally with her beloved husband, Sherril, who passed away last year. Throughout their 61 years of marriage, Irene and Sherril could be heard singing love songs to each other. One favorite duet contained these words: “The circle of our love extends beyond the reach of time. In God’s eternal plan it goes forever.”

Irene left a beautiful legacy of family traditions and a testimony of Jesus Christ. Her large family will miss gathering in her home for parties, holiday celebrations, fun, laughter, and music. She will be missed for her listening ear, her bright smile, her sense of humor, her beautiful heart-felt prayers and her stalwart spirit.

Family and friends are invited to attend a memorial service on Saturday, February 19, 2022, at 11:00 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2228 E. Brown Road, Mesa, AZ 85213.

The memorial service will also be broadcast on Zoom (meeting ID: 914 6235 3031).

Interment: City of Mesa Cemetery

Arrangements by Bunker’s Garden Chapel, www.bunkerfuneral.com. Should this obituary appear anywhere but bunkerfuneral.com, please check our website for accurate details and service information.