Ola Irene Tesch

Ola Irene Tesch, known as Irene, of North Augusta, SC, passed away on Saturday, June 17, 2023, at the age of 90. She was born in May 1933 in Lakeland, Florida to Kathyrn Wasner Allen Milo and Paul King Allen. She spent her early years in Florida and Alabama, being raised by a single/widowed mother and a faithful dog named Don. She loved the beauty of the South yet ended up meeting the man of her dreams from Wisconsin, a good ways to the north. 
She married Eugene Leonard Tesch in Sept. 1952. As Gene was in the Army, a life of travel ensued. They lived in several locations throughout the States and some overseas locales as well. Her mother, who was widowed, traveled alongside. Her family was a great source of love and pride. It swelled to eight children and always a pet or two. While Irene was busy indeed, bearing and raising eight kids, all while moving every few years, the one constant in every new home was church involvement. She was a Sunday school teacher at some and a Sunday school superintendent, and a blessing to every choir she joined. She studied flower arranging in Japan and it became a lifelong interest. She loved snow skiing in Alaska. She became a Toastmaster and loved her speech writing. She loved visiting the southern relatives in Tuscumbia, Alabama and all the northern relatives in Wausau, Wisconsin. Her mother called them darn Yankees, until we came to know and love them. Then still called them that, but lovingly.
The things Irene valued in life were the Lord, her husband, her family, and all things fun. She definitely had style and flair. She never went unnoticed. One of her great skills was as an encourager; she believed in all her children and always tried to bring out the best in them. Her husband, Gene was the jokester, but Irene had a very sharp wit. She loved meeting new friends and excelled at the art of conversation. She was never a background kind of person. She lived with passion, she was a large presence in the lives of her family and friends and will be greatly missed.
Irene was predeceased by her loving husband of 46 years; her mother and father; and her son Paul Leonard Tesch. She will forever be lovingly remembered by:
Kathyrn Irene (Richard) Hammock of GA; Debi Tesch (Woody) Sidbury of SC; Sheree Lynn (Charles) Peters of SC; Kevin Eugene (Cindy) Tesch of North Augusta, SC; Karl Derek Tesch; Tamara Marie (Matthew) Jerles of GA; Dana Tesch (Tony) Muñiz of Graniteville, SC; 15 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held on Friday June 23,2023 from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM at Rowland Ford Funeral Home, 637 West Martintown Road, North Augusta, SC.
Funeral service will be held at 12:00 PM in Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1002 Carolina Avenue, North Augusta, SC 29841 on Saturday June 24, 2023. If desired, donations can be made to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Music Ministry in honor of Ola Irene Tesch.
Be the things you loved most about the people who are gone.