Recently when I logged onto my email, this email from Irene opened up - haven't a clue how! The time it was written fit right in w/the present time of year. I enjoyed reading it, and thought you all might, too. Glad to be reminded of dear Irene through her own words, having fun w/friends and family:

Hi Cheryl,
Happy New Year!! I hope you and your mama and aunt camilla had a great holiday. As for me, I spent christmas with my dad and brother, then went up to Stowe, Vermont for a few days to ski with a couple of friends. It's really quaint up there - a classic new england small town. Good skiing, good food, good friends... and lots of cozy fireplaces. And we treated ourselves to a spa our last day there -perfect way to ring in the new year.
There's a bauhaus exhibit and a Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA that I wanted to check out. Tim and I were going to see bauhaus last year, but then a blizzard blew in to town. We miss you and Scott, esp when we go to MoMA. I'm going to try and go see Scott down under this year. He doesn't know this yet, by the way....
Well, that's all for now. I'll write again soon. Here's to new adventures and everything good for 2010!!
Cheers, Mean I. 

Irene and I met at work, but eventually, thru friends and common interests, especially dance - we were both dance fans and took dance classes - we became fast friends as well as colleagues. Through the years we went to many museums, galleries, and dance performances, together & w/friends. Irene was an insightful commentor of what we experienced, whether Savion Glover or NYC ballet.

Irene was an incredibly dedcated architectural professioal, and when possible, found time to work on dance performances. One was particularly memorable , attended by myself & our colleagues, Scott and Oana, When the performance began, in darkness, we eventually saw Irene in the forefront of the rest of the group and.(in my view) she lead the group in their movement throughout the dance, and Irene's movement was elegant and beautiful and musical. We simultaneously turned to each other and exclaimed: "Irene is so good!"!  We really hadn't been expecting her high level of performance, but, upon reflection shouldn't have been surprised.  Irene was always a perfectionist!

Irene was a beautiful dancer, and I hope more of her dancer friends will post.   As our friend Scott said when she left us, "now Irene can dance every day." I hope to be dancing with her one day, too. Sounds like heaven to me. 

AB and I had just taken Irene out for dinner at Supper where we drank wine, ate a big plate of pasta and had a great girl's night. Afterward Irene came over where Rob joined us, after having earlier picked up the cake on his way into the city for the weekend. She laughed when she saw it was an ice cream cake and said in her sweet Irene voice, "You guys!!" Always so gracious and grateful, I was so blessed to share her last couple of birthdays with her.

Nov. 2009- This was our first official race at Central Park and we ran the entire race together until .25 miles from the finish line when Irene just starting leaving everyone around us in her dust. We had started running together that June, and had trained for this race for a couple of months prior to it, both around Stuy Town and around the 4 mile loop at Central Park. As was customary, she let me run on the inside of the loop, on her left side, she was always to my right. Thank goodness we didn't run the loop clockwise, we would have been totally out of whack. We didn't know that its not cool to wear the actual race shirt to the race, but we didn't really care. It was our first of 4 races together and we always ran exactly like we trained, she ws on my right, my friend, my coach. And she always waiting for me at the end, with a smile as wide as her face and hand out for a triumphant high five. I miss you always, but especially now during my solo runs without you.

Irene took me to museums. I took her to sporting events. The thing we both enjoy is sharing new dining experiences with each other.  Over some great meals and/or desserts, we had many chats - some serious and others so silly she would have tears rolling down.  I miss her.

When I brought Artie up to RPI to meet her for the the first time, they enjoyed laughing and jabbing at each other so much.  She either had too much coffee or was just super hyper but she decided to give him a hard time for fun and made up her motto "sleep is bad" and refused to let any of us sleep.  After that trip, Artie joked that he found his first white hair.  Irene was so proud of giving Artie his first white hair and never let him forget it.


On another trip up to visit her at RPI, we were unfamiliar with the area and relied on her verbal directions while driving.  She would often say, "Go THAT way!" or "Go THIS way" while pointing and it would drive Artie crazy because he couldn't see all the pointing in the last minute and had no idea where THIS or THAT way was. So she made up her own special code.  Because, she reasoned, people generally use the phrase "that's right", she decided THAT = turn right. And when she would tell us to "Go THIS way" it would mean the opposite or turn left.  It made perfect sense to her, and humorously, we adapted to it since she was getting her lefts and rights mixed up and it was quicker for her to think in THIS and THAT's.  She was also quite proud of the fact that she conditioned us to follow directions she completely made up - only with Irene.

I first met Irene in 1984 in homeroom as a freshman at Bronx Science HS. I was drawn to her sweet personality and her genuine, down to earth, easy going style. We became fast friends and our friendship was rooted after transferring to Stuy the following year. Hanging out before, during, and after school, tying up the phone lines when we weren't together, egg creams at Ambrosia's diner, proof reading each other's college app essays, sharing hopes and dreams, ice cream at the BR before heading home, taking long walks around her neighborhood, hanging out at each other's place, going to prom together, choir, piano, movies, sharing so much laughter and silliness. While I went through the insecurity of growing up, Irene was self assured, stood tall, and was fearless to try new things and follow her heart and dreams. She was a rock I leaned on and a quiet encourager.  How steadfast she was and remained so all her life to everyone she met!

There was so much to see in Paris.  We visited practically most of the museums from the Louvre to the Sewage Museum, and then more architectural sites besides.  At night, we didn't exactly rest our wary feet.  We went on a boat ride at night on the Seine, and saw the beautiful light show on the Eiffel Tower.  One night we went clubbing at Les Bains.  We had a blast!

We went to Portugal in 1999 to visit Siza's works.  Although we didn't have a big travel budget, we enjoyed extravagantly whenever possible.  When we got to the tea house, Irene suggested that we stay for dessert to thoroughly appreciate the space.

As I slowly leaf though my memories of Irene, and places we've been, I remember we would be complete dorks and pay homage to great buildings during the day.  At night we would go clubbing.  The nights in Lisbon was spent listening to fado, and dancing in Bario Alto.

Irene and I went on our first trip abroad in 1999.  We mostly traveled within Portugal, but the Roman Museum in Merida was within a stone's throw.  We had to go.  I remembered we planned to be there at least an hour before the siesta hour posted on the museum schedule.  What we didn't know was we had crossed time zone when we crossed the Portugal-Spain boarder.  We had lost the hour as planned to leisurely visit the museum; instead we did a quick walk-through.

Peter is my brother's best friend and roommate from Cooper Union.  Irene was my closest friend and roommate from RPI.  By coincidence, they both worked at Gwathmey Siegel Associates.  Peter was already there when Irene started.  When I made the introduction, Peter wanted to know all my dirt from Irene, but I know my dirt was safe with her!

For over half of my life Irene has been a part of my life, starting in college.  After the crazy late-night work of architecture school was over, and we all went off to find jobs, we stayed in touch and made time for one another at important personal moments.  She always made time for walks in the park, or lunch at a special place, like the Four Seasons.  She extended her neighborhood to include upstate NY and parts of MA and obviously many other places.  She was not afraid to travel!

Our children have had the pleasure of meeting Irene and loving her too.  Their memories of trips to NY include her taking them on the ferris wheel at Times Square.  She loved them right back with no reserve. 

Her friendship never let me down – she listened, laughed, introduced me to her city, and made me a part of her life.  Her friends and family have been graced by the time she spent with us.  Dear friend, I will miss you acutely.

The first week of RPI and into studio walks this amazingly intelligent, strikingly beautiful young architecture student with an infectious smile. A talented designer and probably the best theorist in the class, Irene was genuine and kind and always a bright spot in anyone’s day. We enjoyed numerous “spirited” discussions on the merits of modern architecture and how best to infuse the extraordinary into the mundane, and boy did she like to dance. Group dinners, the Beaux Arts Ball, local excursions, late night hang-out sessions, Irene learning to drive, Irene visiting an upstate farm; all of these experiences were good times, great memories and the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

After college, no visit to the city was complete without meeting up with Irene. She ALWAYS made room in her busy schedule, even if it could only be for a few hours. Whether it was meeting for lunch and tea at the Morgan Library, drinks at the Seagram Building, or taking the kids to the toy store, she always arranged a memorable itinerary that included a dose of significant art and architecture. No matter how tight we were on time, there was always an available opening to accommodate dessert.

In 2011 she agreed to be my “date” at a black tie event at The Plaza. As lovely and radiant as ever, it amazed me how positively she was dealing with her struggle. My dear friend, how I enjoyed our time together, I will truly miss you, and your smile.

Here is Irene with my sister Gale.  We were classmate and roommate at RPI.  After graduation, we both lived and worked in NYC.  We shared so much of our lives and experiences together.  Irene was like a sister to me.  She will forever live in my heart.

Irene, Deb, and I were classmates from RPI School of Architecture.  Because of our love for architecture, we travelled great distances to see works of art from past to present.  Irene was one of very few architects I know with an unwavering passion and dedication for her profession.