Irene D. (Belling) Snider, 90, of South Sioux City, passed away Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at Matney’s Colonial Manor. Services will be held at 11:00 am, Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at Waterbury Funeral Service of Sioux City with Rev. Martha Anderson officiating. A visitation will begin two hours prior to the service time at the funeral home. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery following services.


Irene was born on August 14, 1926 in Bloomfield, Nebraska, the daughter of John and Mamie Olson. Irene and her sister, Gladys grew up on their parents’ farm near Bloomfield. In 1943, she graduated from Bloomfield High School and began teaching at the age of 18 in country schools in the area. In 1949, she completed a two year teaching program at Wayne State College. Irene married Hilliard Belling on August 10, 1952 and together they made their home Sioux City. She attended Briar Cliff College, earning a Bachelor of Music Degree with a minor in Education in 1959. She taught English, Literature, and Music at South Sioux City Junior High (1959-1960) and Kindergarten at Onawa Public Schools (1960-1961). In 1961, she began her teaching career in the Sioux City Community Schools. She taught Kindergarten and Second Grade at Hopkins, Smith, Cooper, Washington, and Longfellow Schools. After Hilliard passed away in 1968, she bravely raised their five children by herself. In 1982, Irene married Raymond Snider. He passed away in 1988. She retired from teaching in 1990 and moved to Green Valley, Arizona where she lived for seven years. She enjoyed painting landscapes, playing the organ in church, leading Bible studies, and sight-seeing with friends. She later moved back to the Midwest to spend more time with her family in Kirksville, Missouri and Lincoln, Fremont, Wahoo, and South Sioux City, Nebraska.


Music, teaching, family, faith, and art were Irene's passions. From the time that she was a child, she loved to play the piano. She would gladly practice playing for hours and played the piano and organ for her church. She taught her own children to love music and for many years she gave piano, voice, and accordion lessons often on Saturday mornings with special recitals at Christmas time. She was a very creative teacher and her students and their parents loved the games, music, art, and dramatic activities that she provided. Irene's five children were her pride and joy, and they shared many happy years as a close family. She set the example for them as a strong Christian who valued achievement, compassion, faith, joy, and success.


Those left to cherish her memory are her children, Cary (Beverly) Belling of Pasadena, California and their son, Adam, Carol (John) Hantla of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa and their children David, Mark, and Audrey (Greg), Camille (Adrian) Hinz of Omaha, Nebraska and their children Kristen and Daniel, Wesley (Jill) Belling of Kirksville, Missouri, and Rose Belling of Lincoln, Nebraska and her children Jessica and Jacob, and her sister, Gladys Rosberg of Norfolk, Nebraska.


Irene was preceded in death by her parents, John and Mamie; husbands, Hilliard and Raymond; son, Kevin; and sister, Irma.