Irene Sweeney honored by Big Brothers/Big Sisters

Intermountain Catholic

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At 93, Irene Sweeney continues to give generously of her time, talent, and treasure. She will be honored Oct. 14 by the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Utah for having been the first Big Sister in the state. IC photo by Barbara S. Lee

SALT LAKE CITY — It was sometime in the early 1960s that Irene Sweeney was approached by the late Msgr. William H. McDougall. He had a favor to ask of her. There was a little girl attending (then) Cathedral School who had no mother. She lived with her father and her two brothers.

"Msgr. McDougall wanted to know if I would be a big sister to the girl. He was very active in the formation of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters. He shared his concern for the children.

"I went down to the cathedral and we met in the rectory. Her name was Kathy Kirtley, and she was about 10 years old. The very first thing we did together was go to Snelgrove’s for an ice cream cone. When we were finished, she said, ‘You know, I have two brothers at home.’ So, we bought ice cream for her brothers, too."

Together, Sweeney and her little sister planted flowers around Sweeney’s house. Kathy would go to Sweeney’s house to do her homework. "I had to see to her homework because she was with me."

"I was working at the Newhouse Hotel at the time, and I used to take her there for lunch," Sweeney said. "We spent a lot of time together, and I ended up being a big sister to her brothers, too."

With Kathy, Sweeney watched the Catholic Big Brothers and Big Sisters take root and grow. She, along with Msgr. McDougall and other community leaders, met on a regular basis, and worked to match fatherless boys with big brothers and motherless girls with big sisters.

Now, as the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Utah are preparing to celebrate their 30th anniversary, Sweeney will be honored, and she’s happy to learn that the organization located Kathy, who lives in New Mexico and is 60 years old.

"I just lived a normal life and she fit into it. She did what I did."

"When Msgr. McDougall recruited me, we needed big brothers, and he went around to all the pastors asking them for the names of men who would make good big brothers.

Sweeney oversaw the treasury for the Catholic Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and when the state organization got larger, the Catholic Big Brothers and Big Sisters went out of existence.

"We were associated with the state group, and as they expanded, I just took them whatever we had in the treasury, and turned it all over to them. Later, even though I was no longer a big sister, I worked behind the scenes for them

This seems to be Sweeney’s year. On Nov. 20, she will receive a humanitarian award from Catholic Community Services. It will be the second time she will receive that particular honor.

Sweeney is known for her deep faith and her generosity. She is devoted to the Cathedral of the Madeleine, and until a short time ago, she served as an usher there, greeting people as they came in for Mass.

If you ask Sweeney her age, she’ll tell you honestly that she’s 93, then she says, "I’ve been around for a long time."

Sweeney first came to Utah in 1951 to begin a state chapter of the League of Women Voters. Minnesota-born, she left Utah for awhile, but returned later in the 1050s.

"I had met so many wonderful people here, and I’d fallen in love with the Wasatch Mountains. I decided I wanted Utah to be my home. In Minnesota we had hills. Here we have mountains. It’s a visual thing.

Sweeney has served on the boards of many of the charitable organizations in the state. Her dedication to Catholic Community Services has meant long service to them.

"I like CCS because of the work they do to provide opportunities to the less fortunate. I was involved with St. Vincent Soup Kitchen for a long time. I set up their volunteer program."

A devoted reader since she was a child, Sweeney read everything Charles Dickens wrote. She was drawn to how the poor were treated in the Dickens books, and always wanted to do something about it.

"That is what CCS is doing," she said.

Still a faithful reader, Sweeney sits surrounded by a collection of Books on Tape she borrows from the state library.

"I never get lonely," she said. "I have my books, and I have many visitors. I’m in God’s country here, and every now and then the moose come to visit me, too. They like to eat the apples off the tree, and when a moose takes a bite, it’s a big bite. But they’re welcome here."

Sweeney continues to serve on the board of the Catholic Foundation of Utah, and as with CCS, she said with a smile, "I contribute financially, and then leave it up to them for do the budget and arrange the programs.

There was a time when Sweeney was quite a program organizer herself. In 1968 she helped organize a neighborhood health clinic for people who had no insurance. That clinic eventually merged into FHP (the Family Health Program) and became an HMO.

"I served on that board for 17 years," she said. "It eventually became the Intermountain Health Care Community Care Foundation."

Sweeney has just finished serving a term on the Madeleine Choir School board, and she continues to serve on an advisory board for Christus St. Joseph Villa.

I do a lot of fund raising by phone," she said. "But I still make a few personal calls on people."

Sweeney smiles and laughs easily. "People call me when they need me. They know I’m not going anywhere."