Irene Assunta (Stello) Blaszczak passed from this world on June 21, 2019.

Born on April 1st, 1931 in Marion Heights, she was the daughter of the late Victor and Margaret (Angelo) Stello. At the age of 3, she lost her hearing due to an unfortunate accident.  As one of the very few deaf people in the region, she found schooling to be very difficult. She left high school in her freshman year to begin work in the local dress factory in Marion Heights.  She later attended business college at Penn State and learned key punch skills.

She met her husband, the late Benjamin Blaszczak in 1966 in Philadelphia and they were married on June 7, 1967. In 1969, Irene left work to begin a family and returned to work in 1980 after her husband Ben passed away following a long illness.  She worked as a data entry operator for the State of New Jersey in the Division of Taxation and the Department of Community Affairs from where she retired in 1994. Irene has been living in the Seattle, Washington area since 2006. Prior to that, she lived in Tucson, Arizona from 1994 having moved there from Pennsylvania

Irene had few close friends over the years.  All of them would rave about her cooking and baking skills.  Friends were always welcomed with coffee and pie and always left satiated and often with leftovers.

May she find peace and comfort in heaven that so often eluded her in this life.

She is survived by her son, Joseph Blaszczak and his husband, Geoffrey Sammons; and dozens of nieces, nephews, and their respective families. She is the last of her generation and was preceded in death by her four brothers: Tony Stello, Jack Stello, Victor (Butch) Stello Jr., and Joseph Stello; seven sisters: Barbara Bader, Phyllis Novitski, Janette (Johanna) Di Rienzo, Thelma Linetty, Catherine Beltz, Marie Radzuinas, and Dolores Bujarski.

Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, November 8, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. in the Church of the Holy Angels, 855 Scott Street, Kulpmont, PA with Father Andrew Stahmer officiating. Visitation will be held in the Church of the Holy Angels at 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Burial will follow in St. Casimir's Cemetery, Marion Heights, PA. In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made to Full Life Care, Attn: Development, 800 Jefferson Street, Suite 620, Seattle, WA 98104. Arrangements are in care of C. J. Lucas Funeral Home Inc., 27 N. Vine Street, Mount Carmel, PA, C. J. Lucas IV, supervisor. To send condolences to the family please visit www.cjlucasfuneralhome.com