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July 29, 2026
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Thursday, August 13, 2026, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, August 14, 2026, with a 10:00 AM prayer at the funeral home, then to St. Mary's R.C. Church, 17 Pompton Avenue, Pompton Lakes, where a Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM.
Following the Mass, Irene will be laid to rest at Brookside Cemetery in Englewood.
Irene Straub Baxter, known to everyone as "Renee," age 79, passed away peacefully on July 29, 2026. She was a longtime resident of the Pines Lake community in Wayne from 1979 until 2023, before moving to Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains.
Renee (pronounced "Ree-Nee") was born in Teaneck on April 5, 1947, the youngest of four children born to her late parents, Norma Julia Straub (née Harms) and Frank Matthew Straub. She and her three brothers were raised in Teaneck, where Renee graduated from Teaneck High School with her Phi Beta Omega sorority sisters in the Class of 1965.
Family was always at the center of Renee’s life – both the family she was born into and the family she created along the way. She was blessed with an extraordinary mother, Norma, who worked tirelessly to give Renee and her brothers a loving, fun and supportive home. Norma’s strength and devotion left a lasting impression on Renee, giving her an extraordinary example of what motherhood could be. She carried that example into her own life as a mother, loving her daughters absolutely and unconditionally, encouraging them always, and filling their childhood and adult years with the same sense of love, fun and possibility that Norma had given her. Renee considered raising Jessie and Meghan to be the greatest joy and privilege of her life.
Renee was fiercely independent, and from an early age she was determined to work hard and make her own way in the world. Her first job after high school was in the Hoboken office of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, which supplied her with a lifetime of cheeky stories about "When I worked on the railroad...". Renee’s career would, however, come to be defined by her many years at Joseph E. Seagram & Sons. She took enormous pride in her work there, building a successful career and forming friendships that would last the rest of her life.
Renee was an exceptional baker and an enthusiastic creator of traditions and reasons to gather. She poured her heart into planning and hosting holidays, parties and casual get-togethers, pampering the people she loved with homemade meals and desserts that always included her secret ingredient: “half a cup of love”. Meghan and Jessie’s childhood friends still remember Renee’s Halloween bashes and Christmas gingerbread-house-decorating parties. She was happiest in the joyful chaos of a full house – whether it was filled with kids at a party, family gathered for an over-the-top holiday celebration, or, in later years, her daughters and their friends and partners lingering around the table over dinner, drinks and belly laughs. Everyone was welcome in Renee’s home, and her table could always fit one more.
Renee absolutely loved to travel and never lost her excitement about seeing more of the world. She traveled extensively in her younger “single” years, including taking a solo trip to Japan in her early 20’s, and throughout her life was always ready to (over)pack a bag and go – whether the trip had been planned for months or decided on yesterday. She nurtured that sense of adventure in Jessie and Meghan, and the three shared countless trips together over the years. Asked to name her favorites, Renee would likely start (and not stop for a while!) with stories from their 2009 coast-to-coast drive in an old manual shift Jeep Wrangler or their 2013 trip to Hungary, where they retraced the Straub family’s roots. Regardless of age or how many marvelous places Renee and her girls visited, Disney would always be a favorite location for her. After all, Renee’s spirit was one of joy, love and silliness; you’re never too old to be silly.
Skiing was another lifelong love. It was also how she met Arthur Baxter, her former husband and the father of her daughters; they met on a group trip to Mad River Glen in Vermont. Mad River would remain a special place for the family, with many winter trips spent navigating snowy Vermont roads and bunking with other members at the Ramapo Mountain Ski Club lodge.
Renee believed deeply that life should be lived with kindness, integrity and acceptance, and she found those same values reflected in her spiritual home, St. Mary’s RC Church in Pompton Lakes. Her faith in God sustained her through life's joys and challenges, and she took great comfort in regularly attending Mass. Through St. Mary’s, she participated in pilgrimages to Greece, Italy and the Holy Land, as well as trips to Washington, D.C. to advocate for causes close to her heart, including women’s rights, equality and dignity for marginalized people, and care for the planet.
Service to others was also important to Renee. She began volunteering at a soup kitchen in Paterson, NJ alongside her best friend Marilyn Mezey. After Marilyn passed away in 2003, Renee continued that work in honor of her beloved friend.
Renee had layers. She adored a good book on a quiet beach as much as she enjoyed cheering on the NY Rangers. She loved gardening and Broadway shows, polka dots and bright colors, skiing and extravagant dinners. She loved embarrassing her daughters by bragging about them to complete strangers. She loved her cat, Jada, and her 4-legged golden retriever grandson, Neville. She loved standing up for what was right, even when doing so was neither easy nor popular; she loved her country and believed deeply in its promises of equality and freedom. She loved her friends. She loved her family. She loved being a mother to any person who needed one, whether for a few minutes on a single day or for a lifetime.
Those who knew Renee would describe her as warm, friendly, kind, silly, welcoming, and endlessly maternal. She was “Mamma B” to many of her daughters' friends, "the sweetest person on the planet," "the embodiment of love," and someone who never met a stranger.
Renee was the loving and cherished mother of Jessie Irene Baxter of Somers, New York, Meghan Leigh Baxter of Pompton Lakes, and Bonnie Mano and her husband, Rick, of Apopko, Florida; the adoring grandmother of Liam James Irene Baxter, Sean and Emily Kane, and Erin, Naomi and Kailyn Forsythe; the dear sister of the late Frank Straub (2014) and Gary Straub (2020), both formerly of Paramus, and of Raymond Straub and his wife, Marilyn, of Spring Hill, Florida. She was also the beloved aunt of Raymond Straub Jr. of Asheville, North Carolina, and Timothy Straub and his partner, Michelle, of Memphis, Tennessee.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Renee’s memory are asked to consider a donation to Planned Parenthood Action Fund or BrightFocus Foundation.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family on Thursday, August 13, 2026, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, August 14, 2026, with a 10:00 AM prayer at the funeral home, then to St. Mary's R.C. Church, 17 Pompton Avenue, Pompton Lakes, where a Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM.
Following the Mass, Irene will be laid to rest at Brookside Cemetery in Englewood.
July 29, 2026
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Thursday, August 13, 2026, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, August 14, 2026, with a 10:00 AM prayer at the funeral home, then to St. Mary's R.C. Church, 17 Pompton Avenue, Pompton Lakes, where a Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 AM.
Following the Mass, Irene will be laid to rest at Brookside Cemetery in Englewood.
Irene Straub Baxter, known to everyone as "Renee," age 79, passed away peacefully on July 29, 2026. She was a longtime resident of the Pines Lake community in Wayne from 1979 until 2023, before moving to Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains.
Renee (pronounced "Ree-Nee") was born in Teaneck on April 5, 1947, the youngest of four children born to her late parents, Norma Julia Straub (née Harms) and Frank Matthew Straub. She and her three brothers were raised in Teaneck, where Renee graduated from Teaneck High School with her Phi Beta Omega sorority sisters in the Class of 1965.
Family was always at the center of Renee’s life – both the family she was born into and the family she created along the way. She was blessed with an extraordinary mother, Norma, who worked tirelessly to give Renee and her brothers a loving, fun and supportive home. Norma’s strength and devotion left a lasting impression on Renee, giving her an extraordinary example of what motherhood could be. She carried that example into her own life as a mother, loving her daughters absolutely and unconditionally, encouraging them always, and filling their childhood and adult years with the same sense of love, fun and possibility that Norma had given her. Renee considered raising Jessie and Meghan to be the greatest joy and privilege of her life.
Renee was fiercely independent, and from an early age she was determined to work hard and make her own way in the world. Her first job after high school was in the Hoboken office of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, which supplied her with a lifetime of cheeky stories about "When I worked on the railroad...". Renee’s career would, however, come to be defined by her many years at Joseph E. Seagram & Sons. She took enormous pride in her work there, building a successful career and forming friendships that would last the rest of her life.
Renee was an exceptional baker and an enthusiastic creator of traditions and reasons to gather. She poured her heart into planning and hosting holidays, parties and casual get-togethers, pampering the people she loved with homemade meals and desserts that always included her secret ingredient: “half a cup of love”. Meghan and Jessie’s childhood friends still remember Renee’s Halloween bashes and Christmas gingerbread-house-decorating parties. She was happiest in the joyful chaos of a full house – whether it was filled with kids at a party, family gathered for an over-the-top holiday celebration, or, in later years, her daughters and their friends and partners lingering around the table over dinner, drinks and belly laughs. Everyone was welcome in Renee’s home, and her table could always fit one more.
Renee absolutely loved to travel and never lost her excitement about seeing more of the world. She traveled extensively in her younger “single” years, including taking a solo trip to Japan in her early 20’s, and throughout her life was always ready to (over)pack a bag and go – whether the trip had been planned for months or decided on yesterday. She nurtured that sense of adventure in Jessie and Meghan, and the three shared countless trips together over the years. Asked to name her favorites, Renee would likely start (and not stop for a while!) with stories from their 2009 coast-to-coast drive in an old manual shift Jeep Wrangler or their 2013 trip to Hungary, where they retraced the Straub family’s roots. Regardless of age or how many marvelous places Renee and her girls visited, Disney would always be a favorite location for her. After all, Renee’s spirit was one of joy, love and silliness; you’re never too old to be silly.
Skiing was another lifelong love. It was also how she met Arthur Baxter, her former husband and the father of her daughters; they met on a group trip to Mad River Glen in Vermont. Mad River would remain a special place for the family, with many winter trips spent navigating snowy Vermont roads and bunking with other members at the Ramapo Mountain Ski Club lodge.
Renee believed deeply that life should be lived with kindness, integrity and acceptance, and she found those same values reflected in her spiritual home, St. Mary’s RC Church in Pompton Lakes. Her faith in God sustained her through life's joys and challenges, and she took great comfort in regularly attending Mass. Through St. Mary’s, she participated in pilgrimages to Greece, Italy and the Holy Land, as well as trips to Washington, D.C. to advocate for causes close to her heart, including women’s rights, equality and dignity for marginalized people, and care for the planet.
Service to others was also important to Renee. She began volunteering at a soup kitchen in Paterson, NJ alongside her best friend Marilyn Mezey. After Marilyn passed away in 2003, Renee continued that work in honor of her beloved friend.
Renee had layers. She adored a good book on a quiet beach as much as she enjoyed cheering on the NY Rangers. She loved gardening and Broadway shows, polka dots and bright colors, skiing and extravagant dinners. She loved embarrassing her daughters by bragging about them to complete strangers. She loved her cat, Jada, and her 4-legged golden retriever grandson, Neville. She loved standing up for what was right, even when doing so was neither easy nor popular; she loved her country and believed deeply in its promises of equality and freedom. She loved her friends. She loved her family. She loved being a mother to any person who needed one, whether for a few minutes on a single day or for a lifetime.
Those who knew Renee would describe her as warm, friendly, kind, silly, welcoming, and endlessly maternal. She was “Mamma B” to many of her daughters' friends, "the sweetest person on the planet," "the embodiment of love," and someone who never met a stranger.
Renee was the loving and cherished mother of Jessie Irene Baxter of Somers, New York, Meghan Leigh Baxter of Pompton Lakes, and Bonnie Mano and her husband, Rick, of Apopko, Florida; the adoring grandmother of Liam James Irene Baxter, Sean and Emily Kane, and Erin, Naomi and Kailyn Forsythe; the dear sister of the late Frank Straub (2014) and Gary Straub (2020), both formerly of Paramus, and of Raymond Straub and his wife, Marilyn, of Spring Hill, Florida. She was also the beloved aunt of Raymond Straub Jr. of Asheville, North Carolina, and Timothy Straub and his partner, Michelle, of Memphis, Tennessee.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Renee’s memory are asked to consider a donation to Planned Parenthood Action Fund or BrightFocus Foundation.
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