News - Local

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

Strawn’s soft spot was the children

Hostess worked at Broadwater for 35 years

St. Jude Children’s Cancer Research Hospital was dear to the heart of Irene Strawn of Biloxi, just because she cared.

“When I was growing up,” said her daughter, Tricia Collins of Biloxi, “she was a really big supporter of St. Jude. She had very little in her life. What little she had, she shared with them. I just think that she loved children dearly, and sick children, just because they needed it. Kids hit a spot in her heart.”

For 35 years, Strawn worked as hostess at the Broadwater Marina and loved her job.

“She took so much pride in her work,” Collins said, ”She prided herself on taking care of the customer. Service to her meant a lot. If we went somewhere to eat, she knew what good service was.”

Strawn, 80, had Alzheimer’s disease and couldn’t recover from a fractured hip, then an infection. She died Nov. 8 of multiple system organ failure, said Collins, who is a nurse.

“She was very independent most of her life,” Collins said. “She had only gone to the eighth grade in school, but had raised five children on a waitress’ salary, on a hostess’ salary.”

Strawn collected angels, loved walking with her friends at Edgewater Mall and loved her little Yorkie named Missy, who lived to be 12 years old and went places with Strawn in her car.

“When we were growing up,” Collins said, laughing, “we were not allowed to have pets in the house. It ended up that Missy got in bed with her and got to do things that we never got to do.”

For years, she volunteered on Mondays to count the Sunday offering for her church, Our Lady of Fatima in Biloxi.

“We loved to go shop on Fridays, to Mobile, to New Orleans,” Collins said. “Sometimes we’d buy things; sometimes we did not buy anything. We’d always go out to eat. We called it ratting the roads. She loved it. She looked forward to it.”