Obituary of Irene Sanders

Irene Lillian Anibal Sanders Schenectady Jan. 12, 1921 to Jan. 29, 2015. Our beloved mother, Irene Anibal Sanders was born in Alplaus, NY and graduated Nott Terrace High School in Schenectady, with honors, in 1939. She attended the New York State College for Teachers in Albany and then went on to become a registered nurse, graduating Mt. Sinai School of Nursing in New York City at the top of her class in 1948. She met her husband, Ernest Sanders, in New York City and they were married in 1950 until he passed away in 1998. They moved to Scotia, NY and resided there since 1963. Irene was a devoted member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Scotia, where she served as a deacon and a member of the choir for many years. She volunteered in the Peace Corp in 1986, training nurses, setting up a pharmacy and doing immunizations at a time when the AIDS epidemic was rampant in Zaire. Irene was a devoted mother and wife. She was passionate about music and the arts, attending many plays, concerts and symphonies, and sang in the Melodears for a number of years. She also thoroughly enjoyed her co-piloting lessons for flying small planes and loved swimming in the ocean and spending time on the shore in Gloucester, MA with family and friends. She was a vibrant, brilliant, loving and selfless person who is loved and will be remembered by many longtime friends and family members. Irene was devoted to her family and leaves behind her three children, Richard Sanders of Tequesta, FL, Jeanne Sanders Gabbert of Pleasanton, CA and Wendy Sanders of Schenectady, NY. She loved and adored her grandson, Justin Gabbert. She is also survived by her brother, Theodore (Teddy) Anibal and his wife, Doris. A celebration of her life and reception will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 185 Swaggertown Rd., Scotia NY 12302 on Saturday, February 7th at 1 p.m. Relatives and friends may call at the Glenville Funeral Home, 9 Glenridge Rd., Glenville, NY on Friday, February 6th from 6 to 8 p.m. Burial will be private at the convenience of the family in Memory Gardens, Colonie. The family kindly requests that contributions be made to Trinity Presbyterian Church.