Irene Miller

Irene was born August 10, 1946 in the Bronx, New York to Robert and Irene Brosan. However, due to her mother's death, she was raised by her aunt and uncle Mary and Bill Armstrong. At the age of 19 she joined the Marine Corps and was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. This is where she met and married her first husband, Al Zazueta during their eight year marriage, Al and Irene had three daughters, Teresa, Catherine 'Cathy', and Mary Ellen. After they divorced, Irene and the girls moved to Iowa where she met Robert 'Bob' Miller. Bob and Irene were married December 31, 1980 and they had two more children, Robert 'Bobby' and Patricia 'PJ'. Bob and Irene enjoyed NASCAR, football, cruising and camping. It was said that if you went camping with them, chances are, Irene would have a gallon bucket of frozen margaritas to share! Irene also enjoyed a friendly home game of poker. Although she was convinced her son-in-law, Dennis, cheated, because no one was that lucky! Irene held several jobs throughout the years but what she truly enjoyed was customer service. During the 80s and 90s, Irene was a customer service representative for Iowa Power in Des Moines. After leaving that position, she decided to start her own cake decorating business and 'Touch & Taste of Heaven' was born. All of her grandchildren fondly remember the cake tops grandma would save for them every time she baked. Irene's favorite holiday was Christmas. No one does Christmas like she did! Every year, Irene would have a different color/light/ornament design. If you asked what her plan was, she'd tell you you'd have to come to family Christmas to find out! One year, she even made a guessing game, that had us all guessing how many lights were on the tree! Christmas wasn't just about the lights and decorations for Irene. It was about the giving. Irene was generous the whole year, but Christmas seemed to give her permission to spoil those she loved, as well as strangers. Irene was a faith filled Christian and believed in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She believed the blessings in her life should be shared by blessing others. She did so, in many ways over the years, from giving a wayward teen a place to stay, or feeding a hungry family, or adopting a family for Christmas or Thanksgiving, to donating to many charities. And none of that even includes what she's done for her family! After they both retired, Bob and Irene built a house and moved to Northwood in 2018. Irene is preceded in death by her granddaughter, Christine Nicole Zazueta. Irene is survived by her husband Bob, their five children; Teresa (Velo) Dillard of Des Moines, Catherine 'Cathy' Zazueta of Des Moines, Mary Ellen (Dennis) Rops of Northwood, Robert 'Bobby' (Lacey) Miller of Carlisle and Patricia 'PJ' Miller of Des Moines. Their 19 grandchildren; Eric (Jessica), Laura (Justin), Ashley (Ray), Alex (Holly), Marissa, Alyssa (Cody), Bethany (Dave), Marina, Nick (Leanna), Matthew (Mariah), Nathan, Erica, Zack, Kimberly, Michelle, Ally, Samantha, Brandon, and Will, and 19 great grandchildren.