Irene Mary Boss

Irene Mary Boss (née Mezzarobba)1928 – 2026

Irene Mary Boss passed away peacefully February 15, 2026, at the age of 97, leaving behind a legacy of love, creativity, faith, and devotion to family and community.

Born in Bruno, Saskatchewan in 1928, to Margaret and Giovani Mezzarobba, Irene was the eldest of six children. Her early years were spent in Northern Manitoba before returning to Bruno to attend high school at the Ursuline Academy. After graduating she moved to Regina and taught with Regina Catholic Schools, touching many young lives with her patience and steady guidance. Regina became her lifelong home where she married John Peter Boss and lived on McCallum Avenue for 55 years. Irene and John met while she was working at the Sunset Store at Katepwa lake, where they eventually bought a cabin in 1972. They thoroughly enjoyed spending their summers growing vegetables that they shared with the community and planting trees that still stand throughout the village. The cabin remains a very special place where Irene’s family continues to spend summers and celebrate special events. 

Irene was a devoted member of the Catholic Women’s League and the Regina Stitchery Guild. She gave her time volunteering at the MacKenzie Art Gallery and the Regina Musical Club where she found joy in the creative community. Irene’s passions were wide-ranging: she loved art history and music, hosting and hospitality, baking and gardening, reading and traveling. She delighted in skiing throughout Canada, the USA and Europe; spending time at Katepwa Lake; attending performances of the Regina Symphony Orchestra; playing bridge; and sharing lively games of bingo with her grandchildren. Her hands were rarely still—whether sewing, knitting, tending her garden, or stirring a pot on the stove to share with loved ones. 

Predeceased by her husband John in 1998, she is lovingly remembered by her sister Johanna Roland and her children: Margie (Dave) Thurmeier; Louise (Jim) Kenyon; and Mike (Diane) Boss. She was a proud and devoted grandmother to Aaron; Andrea (Joe); Ben (Emily); Ali (Alex); Danny (Renee); Sarah (Zach); Jessica (Kenton); and John (Megan) as well as her 11 great-grandchildren. 

We will always remember Grandma walking into the yard at Katepwa wearing her sun hat and yellow gardening clogs, carrying a basket full with fresh berries and vegetables to be carefully scrubbed clean at the well. She poured such care into growing, harvesting, and cooking—her true love language. Her legacy lives on in the gardens she planted, the recipes she taught, the cabin she shared, and, most of all, in the memories of those who were blessed to be loved by her.