Obituary of Irene Hoagland

Irene E. Brokaw Hoagland, age 93, of Monmouth Junction, N.J. passed away Thursday April 18, 2019. She was predeceased in 2003 by her husband of 70 years, Paige Hoagland. Her parents were William Brokaw and Anna Sampson Brokaw. Her brother and sister, also deceased, were Joseph Brokaw and Lillian Sharpe Grover. Irene was born on October 13, 1925 in New Brunswick, N J., where she was raised. She was first employed as a seamstress, in New Brunswick, and then as a homemaker and caregiver for several families, while raising her own. She was the “neighborhood Mom.” Irene was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, a Daughter of Isis, with the Masonic Temple of Princeton. In retirement she was a member of the Knitting Club at the Senior Center of South Brunswick. Her other activities were crocheting, dominoes, bingo, as well as scratch-offs and pick-its from the lottery. Her residence was at Park Place on Route 1 in Monmouth Junction where she will be dearly missed. She is survived by her children, Jennifer Thompson and her husband Michael, Paige Hoagland and his companion Connie Allen, Donna Thompson and her husband Voorhees Jr., and Alan Hoagland and his wife Erlene. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, and 13 great-great- grandchildren, as well as a host of nieces, nephews and friends. Extended family include four “Kleitma Kids” and five “Murphy kids,” providing an additional 14 grandchildren.
Irene was a strong and dignified woman with a great sense of humor. She had a personality where she got along with everyone. Everyone she met loved her.