In Memoriam | Irmgard Conley 10/6/1928 – 1/12/2023

||| FROM KRYSTYNA. U. WOLNIAKOWSKI ||| 

Irmgard Conley (nee Honold), age 94, died peacefully in her sleep on January 12, 2023, in her Olga, WA home where she lived for 44 years. Irmgard had charm and a sharp wit, and was a kind, loving, energetic and compassionate friend to all who were honored to be part of her life. To celebrate her dedication to nature protection and to carry on with her legacy of environmental advocacy, Friends of the San Juans launched the “Irmgard Conley Islands
Conservation Fund” in her memory.

Irmgard was born on October 6, 1928, in Schwabisch Gmund, a beautiful historic town in Baden-Wurttemburg state of southwestern Germany, to mother Margarete Kirchner Honold and father Karl Albert Honold, a physician. Her wonderful childhood playing near the Schwabian Alps with little sister Utta and brother Ulf was cut short by World War 2 when she was just 11 years old. After surviving the bombs and battles, the scarcity of food and clothing that she and her family experienced, greatly influenced Irmgard’s life. She became entrepreneurial and learned to be a seamstress sewing all her family’s clothes. She pursued this artistic talent by attending the Schloss Hohenbaden Art Institute, graduating with a degree in textile design and engineering. She immigrated to the United States in 1957 and settled in Los Angeles to pursue a career in fashion and manufacturing. She was recognized for her exceptional sense of style and applied her creative knowledge of textiles and patternmaking to join the Eva Gabor Fashion Collection as their lead fashion designer.

She met the love of her life, John Conley, a high-school wood-shop teacher, and they married in 1964. They lived in Venice, Topanga Canyon, and Los Eliz in the Hollywood Hills. They both shared a deep love of sailing and spent many years exploring the California coast with their sailor friends.

In 1976, John and Irmgard both quit their jobs and pursued their dream of sailing to the South Pacific islands on a sleek, ocean-worthy 36-foot teak Cheoy Lee Lion sailboat named CARA built in Hong Kong. For more than a year, they lived a life of adventure on the high seas, sailing from one tropical island to the next, fishing, snorkeling, and making friends in every port. Navigating by the stars at night and enduring ocean storms, they learned about the rhythms of ocean and bonded as partners in ways that few people could. When they returned, they moved to the San Juan Islands—a place that offered peace and solitude, that was surrounded by magnificent forests and clear water, and had a small community of friendly neighbors. They settled in the hamlet of Olga on Orcas Island where they found a partially built house they could finish together and make their home. Luckily, there was a community dock just steps away where they could moor their beloved sailboat CARA. They frequently sailed with their friends, Roy and Sheila Pringle, around the San Juans Islands or up north into Canadian waters, navigating the strong tides, currents, and winds while exploring hidden coves, scenic vistas, and secluded anchorages. After a few cold and rainy Pacific Northwest winters, they decided to split their time and seek summer in the southern hemisphere where they could sail under warm and sunny skies of Australia until John’s death in 2000.

Irmgard continued her deep passion for conservation and environmental protection by volunteering with the non-profit organization, the Friends of the San Juans, with generous donations of her time as a board member, boundless energy and ideas, and critically important funds for projects that restored salmon habitat and protected intact scenic landscapes from development. Recycling was a high priority for Irmgard. She was intolerant of any waste and lived frugally. She was especially proud of her multiple compost bins that created all the fertile soil that she needed to feed her other hobby, flower gardening. Each spring and summer her gardens were graced with an abundance of colorful blooms and vegetables, and her porch was decorated with many pots that were overflowing with bright red and pink geraniums. In fall, she always looked forward to the leaves of her giant hickory tree turning to a golden glow.

Irmgard enjoyed her daily walks and robust conversations about politics and world affairs, and especially relished when friends dropped in for a visit or family came to stay to enjoy island life. She cooked and baked delicious recipes from her German cookbooks inherited from her mother. Anyone who was lucky enough to be invited to share her wild plum tart cake or Bavarian torte experienced the pure tasty joy of her creations and her delightful laugh when friends and family expressed their appreciation. Even though she was fiercely independent, she always thought of others, their welfare and health—she was quick to jump on any opportunity to help someone as needed. One example on the lighter side is that she was a founder of the “Wasted Friday Afternoon Club,” to help a consortium of friends collaborating on how to have fun together and take a break from their busy and stressful work-filled lives. She joined the revelers to take photographs and share meals, exchange lively conversations, build life-long friendships, and thoroughly enjoy their time-outs together.

As she sails into her final sunset, we will carry her mischievous smile, generous soul, and unbridled spirit in our hearts, with all our memories of shared love that inspired our admiration and respect for all she went through and experienced in her life. We are indeed grateful that she touched our lives.

We would like to give special and heartfelt thanks to her caregivers, Lois, Erica, Ken, and Dave, for the attention, loving care, laughter, and companionship they provided her during the last few years when she could no longer be independent. They allowed her to be able to stay in her own home until her last breath. She is survived by her sister, Utta Harrison, stepdaughter Kari Conley, stepsons Kevin and Steve Conley, granddaughter Jennifer Butel and great grandchildren Gabriel and Lola Butel.

A celebration of her life will be planned when the fruit trees and tulips are blooming. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the “Irmgard Conley Islands Conservation Fund” using this link at the Friends of the San Juans, or send a check to “Irmgard’s Fund” by mail to Friends of the San Juans, PO Box 1344, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. Family and Friends are encouraged to share memories and condolences at www.whidbeymemorial.com.