Irene S. Rees

IRENE S. REES, REGISTERED NURSEIrene Rees was born on January 20, 1930 in Port Washington, NY, to German immigrants. Her life-long dream of becoming a Registered Nurse was fulfilled in 1952 as she served first at Flushing Hospital, New York, Bolling AFB Hospital, Maryland, before completing her career at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington D.C. After 40 years of service and devotion to helping others, Irene retired in 1992. During this time, Irene raised two children as a single working mother. Irene was extremely proud of John, her son, a highly-decorated disabled U.S. Marine veteran who overcame his injuries to raise a daughter and become a valued defense contractor for the U. S. Government. She was also proud to see her daughter, Susan, become a successful president & CEO of a thriving national credit union. After Irene retired, she enjoyed travelling around the U.S. and abroad with her siblings while seeing her beloved grandchildren, Michael, Katherine “KC” and Kelly grow from wonderful children to exceptional adults. Irene passed away peacefully on October 3, 2013. Her family would like to fulfill her wishes by holding a private service on Monday, October 7, 2013 at Fairfax Memorial Park, Fairfax, Virginia.In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate a donation to the Harvard Medical School Nurses’ Health Study at Friend of the Nurses’ Health Study, Channing Laboratory/Brigham & Women’s Hospital, 181 Longwood Ave., Room 350, Boston, MA 02115-5804 or visit http://www.channing.harvard.edu/nhs/.The Nurses’ Health Studies are among the largest and longest running investigations of factors that influence women’s health. In 1976, Irene was one of the original 238, 000 dedicated Registered Nurse-participants who were selected to be followed prospectively. Irene and her fellow nurses provided and continue to provide information on a regular basis that has led to many new insights on women’s’ health and disease.