Irene Bernadine Zaunbrecher Fields

Moss Bluff / Rayne - It is with great sorrow that the family announce the peaceful passing of Irene Fields, 84, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, at her home surrounded by her family.
A gathering of family and friends was held at Gossen Funeral Home in Rayne on Friday, Dec. 20, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a rosary and celebration of her life at 11:30 am.
Funeral Mass was held at 2 p.m. at St Joseph Catholic Church in Rayne.
Interment was in the St. Joseph Cemetery #2 in Rayne.
Very Rev. Brent L. Smith, VF, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, was the celebrant of the Funeral Mass and conducted the funeral services.
Irene was born on Aug. 22, 1940, in Rayne to Lawrence Henry Zaunbrecher and Marie Gertrude Bollich Zaunbrecher. She resided in Rayne all her life until moving to Moss Bluff in 1976.
She attended and graduated from St Joseph Catholic School, where she played basketball, was a high school cheerleader and selected Homecoming Queen in 1957. Not long after graduation, she got engaged and soon married her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, Larry Fields, on April 22, 1961. They soon started their family — having 4 children.
During those years of raising her children, she was able to be a stay-at-home mom, but she also found time to work at home as a Court Reporter Typist. In the early ‘70s, she wanted to be more involved in her church — St Joseph Catholic Church — and that’s when she became the very first woman lector that church ever had.
She soon realized that being a lector brought so much joy into her life … she believed that she found her purpose and continued doing this for many years.
In 1976, Irene and Larry were transferred and moved their family to Moss Bluff. For the next few years, she was again a stay-at-home mom. While her kids were getting older, the opportunity came and she was hired to work at Sam Houston High School as a secretary, continuing to work there for 10 years.
She also became very involved in her new church — St Theodore Catholic Church — where she worked as a receptionist/secretary. She soon found her way to becoming a lector once again. She just felt that this was her gift, and considered it a privilege because she was serving God in a very special way. She was also a member of the Altar Society and served on the bereavement committee.
Then in 1984, Irene and Larry were transferred once again, this time to Enid, Oklahoma, but after just one short year, they were able to come back to the place they called home … Moss Bluff.
Getting right back to being involved in her church, Irene and Larry together were responsible for starting, planning, and orchestrating the Divine Mercy Ministry at St Theodore in 1997 and continued heading this wonderful ministry for 19 years. This was something she always reverenced and thought of as “this most important Feast”.
Irene was an incredible wife, a devoted mother, a loving grandmother, a special great-grandmother, dear sister and friend. She was gentle, kind, and loving, and genuinely loved people. She was the hero in our family, she is what always brought us all together and taught us the importance of family.
She loved to cook, so much so that her daughter took her best recipes and created a cookbook so all her family would have access to those recipes for years to come.
She stayed busy with church activities and her prayer group, playing Pokeno with some of her dearest friends, and spending time with her sisters when she could. She never met a stranger and was never afraid to strike up a conversation with anyone.
But nothing was more important to her than her husband … the love of her life. She admired him, cared for him, loved him, spoiled him. They shared a love and commitment that is second to none.
Irene leaves behind her soul mate and husband of 63 years Larry J. Fields (and whom she would happily remind everyone that she loved him since the first grade); her four children, Kathleen White and husband Terry of Ragley, John Fields and wife Sharon of Moss Bluff, Janet Yuhasz and husband Ed of Moss Bluff, and Jeff Fields and wife Allison of Crowley; her eight grandchildren, Casey White and wife Alysa of Ragley, Aaron Fields and wife Rachel of Colleyville, Texas, Allison Hamilton and husband Brennen of Cypress, Texas, Evan Yuhasz and Luke Yuhasz of Moss Bluff, Ellie Fields, Emilie Fields, and Ivie Fields of Crowley; her six great-grandchildren, Rayne and Maggie White, Grey and Marlowe Fields, and Fields and Harris Hamilton; one sister, Lois Zaunbrecher Harpole and husband John of Baton Rouge; two sisters-in-law, Margaret Pharr Zaunbrecher of Rayne and Marceline Comeaux Zaunbrecher of Rayne; and many special nieces and nephews and a host of many wonderful friends. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lawrence Henry Zaunbrecher and Marie Gertrude Bollich Zaunbrecher,; two brothers, Glenn William Zaunbrecher Sr. and Alfred Lawrence Zaunbrecher Sr.; three sisters, Norma Zaunbrecher Prevost and husband Harold, Estelle Zaunbrecher Wyatt and husband Coy, and Janelle Zaunbrecher Bourque.
Pallbearers will be Jeff Fields, Casey White, Terry White, Aaron Fields, Evan Yuhasz, Luke Yuhasz and Ed Yuhasz.
The family would like to acknowledge and thank Heart of Hospice and Nurse Anne Marie Barry for her exceptional and wonderful medical care that she gave to our sweet mom. We would also like to extend a special heartfelt thanks to Home Instead and Charmaine Stevens for her compassionate and impeccable care she unselfishly gave, to Angelica Andrus (from Home Instead) for her faithfulness and devoted care to our mom, and to Laura Stanfield for her unwavering dedication and commitment in caring for our mom … all of which allowed Irene to stay in her home during the entirety of her illness. The family would also like to thank mom’s sister, Lois, for her love and caring support during her final weeks.
Friends may view the obituary and guestbook online at www.gossenfuneralhome.net.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Gossen Funeral Home, Inc., of Rayne, 337-334-3141.