Delorese Eliason Irving, 99, of Sterling, passed to eternal life with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on July 6, 2010, at Devonshire Acres. Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, July 12, in the Coventry Apartments Dining Room at Devonshire Acres with the Rev. John Roberts officiating. Her remains will rest beside her husband, Sandy, at Riverside Cemetery.

Delorese was born Feb. 5, 1911, in Davenport, Neb., to Ernest J. and Effie (Clark) McCluskey.
She married E.M. "Sandy" Eliason on June 6, 1932, in Sidney, Neb. He died in 1971. She married Alden Irving in 1979 in LaVerne, Calif. He also preceded her in death, as well as her sister, Alberta Beaird Dixon, formerly of Sterling, Delorese Eliason Irving and her brother, Edson J. McCluskey of Rapid City, S.D.

Delorese is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Richard Trumpe of Edwards, Ill.; a grandson, Rick Trumpe, also of Edwards; a granddaughter, Kim Brooks-Miller and her husband Steve Sink of Peoria, Ill.; and several nieces and nephews.

The McCluskey family moved to Sterling in 1922 to establish a ladies ready to wear and dry goods store. Delorese attended grades 6 through 12 in Sterling schools, also helping to clerk in her father's store and developing her musical talent as a pianist. In high school, she accompanied solists, choirs and operettas. She also played in a trio which provided dinner music at the popular Marshall Cafeteria and following high school graduation toured briefly with an all-girl traveling band.

While selling classified ads for the Sterling Journal-Advocate, she met and married Sandy Eliason. Delorese combined her homemaking and parenting activities with musical interests through the years and added the organ to her accomplishments in 1953. She will be remembered for decades of music performed for community events, dinners, nursing homes, dances at the Elks Club, and as a church organist. She also served as proofreader for the Journal-Advocate from 1960 to 1970. She worked fast and accurately and enjoyed the comraderie of the staff.

Health issues in 1996 led her to move to the rural Illinois home of Carol and Dick, only to discover that the changes in altitude, humidity and temperature worsened her arthritis. In 1998, she returned to her beloved "home town" and good friends in Sterling, residing in Coventry Apartments at Devonshire Acres for the next 10 years. Her shift to the skilled care section of the nursing home came in late 2007.
Sharing her music was an expression of friendship and love for family and friends. Her Hammond organ held a place of honor wherever she lived. Devonshire residents enjoyed her delightful '30s-style organ melodies until the last year of her life.

The family greatly appreciates the loving care and attention Delorese received from staff and friends at Devonshire as well as dear friends in the community.

Memorials in her name may be directed to the Overland Trail Museum, 21053 C.R. 26-1/2, Sterling, CO 80751, or The Gideons International.

Chaney-Reager Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.