Irene Sayer

Irene Marjorie Sayer, 78, of Petoskey, died Sunday, September 16, 2012, at McLaren - Northern Michigan, Petoskey Michigan. She was born April 5, 1934 in the town of Herman, Michigan, (named for her Finnish grandfather's relative, Herman Keranen), the daughter of Jacob ("Jack") and Martha (Kontio) Moilanen. On October 22, 1955 she married Robert Sayer in Detroit. Following their life's work in Dearborn, Mich., they made their home in East Jordan, retiring in the summer home he built in 1962. Robert died April 24, 2012. As a precocious youth, Irene was promoted from fourth to sixth grade in elementary school, and designated 'Bee Baby' of the 1944 Detroit News spelling bee for being the youngest contestant at 10 years old. She had a life long passion for music, singing, and performing, and started singing in church, and later at McKenzie High School. While in grade school, a neighbor made a phonograph record of her singing ‘My Lover Is A Fisherman'. She started singing professionally after high school in Michigan and Ohio. Her range of interest and ability in voice spanned old standards to opera. As a young woman in the early 1950s, she drove from Detroit to Montréal and Québec where she sang in French. She later joined the Bayview Choir in Petoskey, Michigan during the early 1990s, where she performed in productions such as ‘Madame Butterfly' and many others. She retired from her job as executive secretary at Chrysler in Auburn Hills, Michigan in 1992. Surviving are her daughters Andrea (Ord) Frazier of Ypsilanti, MI; Lisë D. Sayer of North Plainfield, N.J.; Tamara (Steve) Acosta of Clayton, N.C.; and Kristin I. Sayer of Clayton, N.C.; a sister, Gloria Rakes of Lauderhill, FL.; a nephew, Jack C. Rakes of Lauderhill, FL.; and a niece, Cynthia (Rakes) Bowden of South Jordan, UT.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests making a memorial contribution to the Friends of the Jordan River Watershed, Lutheran Child and Family Services, or their favorite environmental or educational charity.
The family was served by Hastings Funeral Home in Ellsworth, Michigan.