Irene Davis-Dellinger

Irene Davis-Dellinger passed away at the Los Alamos Medical Center this past Tuesday, August 6. 

A 52-year resident of White Rock, Irene was born in Freiburg, Germany, Province of Saxony, on January 28, 1924, the only child of Kaufman Wilhelm Weichelt and Flora Charlotte Irmgard Schmidt. 

Irene grew up in the City of Dresden, studied to pursue a career in music, but was forced, along with her mother, to flee the city on foot during the Allied fire bombings of February 1945.  Reaching the advancing Allied front lines, she sought refuge with the British occupational forces.  Her knowledge of English helped her find employment in Allied hospitals, where she worked as an administrator until her marriage to Doyle Archie Davis, an American serviceman.  During her time in the “British Sector” of the Allied Occupation of Germany, she was proud of having supported the 1948 Berlin Airlift from an Allied airfield hospital following the Soviet-backed attempt by East Germany to isolate West Berlin. 

Returning with her husband Doyle to the United States in 1952, she gave birth to three children over the following five years, moving to White Rock in 1967, after having resided in Florida, Albuquerque, Wiesbaden and Milwaukee. There, she purchased one of the earliest homes built in the White Rock area, where she remained until earlier this year.  Irene taught and mentored countless children in the Los Alamos Elementary School District for over 30 years as a Special Education teacher, and was one of the founding members of the White Rock Presbyterian Church, to whose activities she was devoted up to her very last day. 

Following her divorce from Mr. Davis in the early 1980s, Irene was reunited with Franz Dellinger, a childhood friend from Dresden.  Irene and her “Franzl” were married in Germany, and shared their years together traveling back and forth between their homes in White Rock and Munich.  Mr. Dellinger died in late 1991. 

Irene is survived by her three children John Curtis Davis of Iowa Park, TX; James Christopher Davis of Santa Fe; and Julie Catharine Carlson of Chimayo and their spouses.  She is also survived by three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.  She will be mightily missed by her loving family and a wide community of friends.

A Private Memorial Service has been held.