Irene (Ferguson) Staresinic

Irene (Ferguson) Staresinic, 89, of Natrona Heights, passed away very peacefully in her home on Sunday, September 3, 2017. She was born March 28, 1928 in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, the daughter of the late Stanley and Marie (Reznik) Zbel.
In a real Pittsburgh story, she met her future husband one summer day at the Kennywood Park Swimming Pool when both were teenagers. She became the loving wife of the late Nick J. Staresinic on June 18, 1949, not long after his return from the Navy. She is survived by her children Nick, Denise Altomari (Rick), Dan (Debbie), Lisa Planavsky (Rudy), Jim (Susan), 11 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.
She and her young family moved to the area in 1953, residing first in Brackenridge, when her husband took his first coaching job on the staff of what became that years co-WPIAL champion Har-Brack Tigers football team. For 66 years she served as a volunteer with various community organizations, logging more than 20,000 hours as a Womens Auxiliary Member and serving on the Board of the Alle-Kiski Medical Center as a representative of the volunteers who operated the old hospital gift shop. She genuinely loved that work and her co-workers.
Irene was a member of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament R.C. Parish, Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Natrona Heights.
Irene loved playing cards, especially bridge, with her dear, long-time friends. She also was a voracious reader. She acquired her love of reading early as a librarian at the Carnegie Library. She passed her love of books to her children and always had a variety of books in the house.
An avid and life-long Pittsburgh sports fan, she and her husband attended very many Steelers and Pitt football and basketball games over the decades, including Super Bowl XXX in Arizona. She and her husband were fortunate to travel widely, but they always made time to visit their children and grandchildren, especially attending their activities.
Friends will be received on Tuesday from 6-8 PM in the Cicholski-Zidek Funeral Home, Inc., 1522 Carlisle St., Natrona Heights 724-224-8688, where a blessing service will be held on Wednesday at 9:30 AM. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10 AM in Most Blessed Sacrament Church with the Rev. Aaron Kriss as celebrant. Entombment will be in Our Lady of Hope Cemetery Mausoleum, Frazer Township. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Irene may be made to a charity of the donor's choice.