Remembering Ireta

First Church lost a dear and devoted friend when Ireta Kellberg died on September 5, after a courageous struggle with cancer. She served as our Financial Secretary for more than twenty-five years, always giving her very best.

In Ireta, the church got more much than a competent worker—we got a wonderful friend. Her job as financial secretary was all about numbers and dollars and cents, but her ministry was all about loving people. There was a whole cadre of church members—mostly retired gentlemen—who made it a point to bring their contributions to the church office personally every week. They could have put their offering envelopes into the plate on Sunday, but they came in person, so they could have a visit with Ireta. She made their gifts important, and she made them feel important and loved. And she managed not to make me feel stupid when, time and again, I would be late with information she needed, or when she have to explain for the umpteenth time how some fund worked, or help me think of the name of some long-time member whose identity had left my memory bank.

If you’ve been around the church any time at all, you know that our staff operates like a family. We are a family. We don’t always get along perfectly…we know each other’s flaws and peculiarities…we occasionally pick at each other….But we are family, and we love each other. We love each other, we loved Ireta, and she loved us.

In the staff family, she was like the big sister who sometimes lost patience with the little brother (this would be the youth director—it’s always the youth director!) who habitually overspent the budget and failed to turn in credit card receipts in timely fashion, but who would always be forgiven and restored to favor. She was like the aunt who would appear with wonderful gifts at the birth of a baby or a wedding or a birthday, the one who kept up with family members after they left the nest, and like the niece who kept up with the old ones and made sure they were still remembered and included in celebrations. She was the mom whom we could count on to come up with all our favorite foods for staff celebrations. She was the grandmother who cherished every child—staff or member— who came through the office. The doll clothes she made for Hannah Son are collector’s items! The Beanie Babies she sent to Russia with our mission team are being loved by dozens of children. For years, when her own grandchildren were little, packages of books, crafts, toys, dolls, whatever, would be delivered to the office several times a week—Ireta was the catalogue dealers’ best friend. The treasures she brought to the staff Christmas parties for our gift exchanges were always the ones most wanted, most often taken from the current lucky possessor. She instinctively knew what was just the right gift for every occasion…or for no occasion at all.

Ireta lived largely and generously, and made us all happier and richer for it. She gave us much more than each day’s work—she gave us her love, and among the many gifts, perhaps the best was Tami, a fearful and wonderful gift!

Our church family changed when Ireta retired from the staff, and of course, life has changed even more for her closer family. But Ireta leaves her imprint on all of us. We will remember! We will tell stories, and we will weep a little, and laugh a lot….and most of all, give thanks to God for our dear friend, Ireta.