Submitted by: Dan Rich

Irene E. Gushwa

March 20, 1907 - Feb. 11, 1999

South Bend Tribune 2/13/1999

Irene W. Gushwa, 92, residing on East Fairview Street, South Bend, Ind., passed away at 3:25 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11, in her home. Mrs. Gushwa was a former clerk with the South Bend License Bureau, and had also been employed with the South Bend Bait Company and the Studebaker Corporation.

She was born on March 20, 1907, in South Bend, to the late Edward and Lillian (Wise) Erhardt, and had lived in the South Bend community all of her life.

On Christmas Day, 1925, in South Bend, as Irene Erhardt, she married Ralph C. Gushwa, who passed away on July 18, 1981. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Joan and Ken Riffel of Mishawaka, Ind.; a son, Ralph W. Gushwa of Tukwila, Wash.; six grandchildren, Cindy (Chuck) Hemphill of Lexington, Mich., Karen (John) Clemens of Osceola, Ind., Suzan (Charles) Dixon of Mishawaka, Juno Sample of Seattle, Wash., Zena Kiser of Soap Lake, Wash., and Shane Gushwa of Seattle, Wash. Mrs. Gushwa is also survived by a brother, Warren Erhardt of South Bend.

Mrs. Erhardt was an active member of the Broadway Christian Parish since 1926, where she volunteered at the Bargain Barn of the Church for more than 20 years. She was also a member of the Leighton Center, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and the American Association of Retired Persons.

Services for Mrs. Irene Gushwa will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 15, in the Palmer Funeral Home, 2528 Mishawaka Avenue, South Bend. Rev. Mike Mather, pastor of the Broadway Christian Parish will officiate. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park, Granger, Ind.

Friends and family may call from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday in the Palmer Funeral Home. Contributions in memory of Mrs. Gushwa may be made to Hospice of St. Joseph County, 111 Sunnybrook Court, South Bend, IN 46637; or to the Broadway Christian Parish, 1412 South Carroll Street, South Bend, IN 46613.