EAST PROVIDENCE — Irene Escobar, 81, of Bentley Street, died Jan. 18 at Rhode Island Hospital. She was the wife of the late Joseph Escobar and mother of Father Joseph A. Escobar, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Providence.
She was the daughter of the late Manuel and Maria Jose (Medeiros) Matias, and a lifelong resident of East Providence.
She was employed in the jewelry industry most of her life, and worked for Coro Manufacturing prior to the birth of her sons. She retired from the B. A. Ballou Co. in 1977, and was a communicant of St.
Francis Xavier Church, East Providence for all of her life.
In addition to Father Escobar, she is survived by three grandchildren.
She was the mother of the late Russell S. Escobar, and sister of the late Lucy Phillips, Emily Perry, Louise Pacheco, Manuel Martin and Dorothy Trudo.
A Mass of Christian Burial was concelebrated Jan. 23 in St. Francis Xavier Church. Burial was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Providence.
