Irene Louise Heck

“LADY”…..TIME TO COME HOME!

IRENE LOUISE (STREETER) HECK

Born May 19, 1927 in Sioux City, IA
Died October 3, 2025 in Omaha, NE
98 yrs. 4 mos. 14 days

Irene Louise Streeter was born to Alfred Albert Streeter and Rose Viola Eshelman in Sioux City, Iowa. The seventh of ten children, she grew up on a farm near McCook and Jefferson, South Dakota. Her oldest brothers were Alfred, Thomas, Claude and Harold, and two older sisters, Marie and Ella. After Irene, there were two more sisters, Nellie and Violet, and a little brother, Theodore (Teddy.) All of the siblings affectionately referred to the old farm as “The Sahara.”
As often customary, some of the kids grew up with nicknames. The tall, robust older brother and Army soldier, was called “Peep.” (His middle name was actually Peter.) Thomas, who was an Army man as well, was so skinny they called him “Twig.” Unfortunately, Claude was denied military entry because of his “flat feet.” The fourth older brother, Harold, was just known as Harold. With world troubles brewing in the early 1940’s, Alfred and Thomas served in the European theater, while Harold joined the Navy and served in the Pacific. He continued in the Navy after WWII, as a career. It seemed a miracle that all three military men returned home safely.
Then there was Irene, the next in line after Harold. As did all of the Streeter children, she lived a difficult life on the old “Sahara.” She lost her mother when she was only eleven years old. And, after she graduated the eighth grade in Jefferson, S.D., she was forced to stay on the farm and become “Sister and Mother” to her remaining siblings, Nellie, Violet and Theodore. Again, not without nicknames, Irene became known as “Lady.” Nellie became “Boots,” and the youngest sister, Violet, became “Fizzle.” But her most favorite of all, was her little brother “Teddy.” He came down with pneumonia and died, at only nine years old. It has always been Irene’s wish to be buried next to her darling brother, Teddy.
Life remained a challenge for Irene. In the forties, she and her sisters worked in the old food processing factories. She later married Russell G. Heck, in August of 1949, in Sioux City, IA. After the couple’s son, Steven, was born in 1950, the couple moved to Omaha, NE., in 1952. In Omaha, she got a job at a downtown eyeglass manufacturer. She would continue in the field, manufacturing and exacting the prescriptions of eyeglasses, until she retired. Unfortunately, she and Russ divorced when Steve was only seven years old. She continued to toil at multiple jobs for her and her son, always providing the BEST that she could.
Now, the struggles have come to an end, and God has opened His welcoming gates to Heaven. There are many voices calling to her now. Her father, mother, and all her past brothers and sisters can be heard: “LADY..time to come home!”


Survived by sister, Violet: son, Steven (Mary Pat); grandsons, R.J. (Brett), Joseph (Julie)

Gathering of Family and Friends: Wednesday, October 8 from 4-6 pm at Braman Mortuary Millard Chapel, 6505 S. 144th St., Omaha, NE