Obituaries : * Irlene Adair; Former Flower Shop, Bar Owner

Irlene Adair, a longtime Ventura resident and one-time owner of a Ventura flower shop and a Simi Valley bar, has died after a six-month battle with cancer. She was 72.

The fifth of 11 children, Adair was born in Poteau, Okla., and moved to Ventura in 1950, her husband, Willis R. Adair, said. The couple met in 1969 while she worked as a personnel manager for the then-new Ventura K Mart. Both had been married previously, he said.

Her husband said the couple enjoyed moving into a home, remodeling it, selling it and then moving into a new one. “It was a kind of hobby, almost,” he said. “We probably lived in 10 or 12 different houses or mobile homes in Ventura.”

Shortly after the couple married, they embarked on a group tour that covered 38 states and visits to portions of Canada, Adair said.

Adair, 77, said his wife loved to collect knickknacks. “She had a cup collection that wouldn’t quit, some thimbles and at one time, she did a lot of needle work,” said the retired Navy chief petty officer.

When he thinks of his wife, no one memory comes to mind, he said. “It was just all really nice. There’s no one specific thing,” he said. “Just a lot of little things that we did together. It was all special.”

In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sons, John E.T. Baker and Charles E. Baker, both of Ventura; a sister, Wanda Poulis of Ojai; eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Visitation is from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home in Ventura. A memorial service will be held Friday at 1 p.m., also at the Reardon Funeral Home. The Rev. Neal Keller will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Livingston Visiting Nurses Assn. or to the American Cancer Society.