Pfaff, Irene Bertha, December 14 1918-December 12 2014   Billings Gazette Billings, Montana 22 Dec 2014   Irene passed away peacefully at her home in Portland two days shy of her 96th birthday. She was born in Shepherd, Montana, to Bertha and Henry Henke, and her immediate family included her brother Clarence and sisters Lydia, Joanne, Edith and Gertrude. All of those family members have passed on.   Irene converted to Catholicism and married her beloved husband John Pfaff in 1939. He preceded her in death in 1984. The couple for many years operated a small meat-packing operation in Brownsville, where they raised their two sons, Dennis and Jim. Both sons survive.   During their years together, Irene and John worked tremendously hard at building their business and supporting their family. They also enjoyed traveling around the Western United States by car, visiting relatives in Oregon, Montana, Washington, and North Dakota, and exposing their children to the history and natural wonders of the West. Favorite destinations included the Oregon Coast, Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, the McKenzie River in western Oregon, and the redwood forests of Northern California. They viewed these excursions as not only leisure activities but as opportunities to explore, and as learning occasions for themselves and their sons.   Both Irene and John also were active in their sons’ educations, participating in school functions, PTA meetings, and theater and sporting events. They encouraged Dennis and Jim in their pursuit of higher education at the University of Oregon. “Go, Ducks, Go,” was one of Irene’s favorite expressions during football season. She also was a big fan of the Trail Blazers and one of her proudest possessions was a stuffed Bill Walton in full Blazer regalia that sat near her television wherever she lived.   Irene and John also enjoyed a rich life with each other and with their siblings and friends before starting a family of their own. These experiences provided a bountiful cache of stories that were shared many times over the succeeding years. From their brutally cold winter together in a cabin near Phillipsburg, Montana, shortly after they were married sprang many tales of hunting, companionship, and dog obedience (or disobedience). Another well-told tale involved a somewhat directionally challenged motor trip in which Irene, Edith, and Gertrude tried to reach Great Falls, Montana, and somehow managed to visit many, if not most, of the northern outposts of the Big Sky state. Much hilarity ensued.   Following John’s passing, Irene moved to Albany, where she became involved in several activities, such as Elderhostel, that would take her on a new series of adventures involving books and far-flung journeys. Reading was always a favorite pastime, as was travel. She also would visit her sons in various exotic locations, including Chicago, Detroit, Lansing, San Francisco, Redwood City, and Eugene.   As Irene’s health grew more fragile, she moved to Portland, where she could live in close proximity to her son Jim and his wife Marla. They kept a close eye on her as she worked to maintain her independence and independent spirit. That effort came to an end on December 12, but she successfully passed along to her sons her love of learning and nature, her wanderlust, her commitment to liberal values, and her staunch belief in pursuing whatever course she deemed correct. She will be greatly missed