Irwin Polens' Obituary
Irwin S. Polens, 88, of Stafford Springs, CT, husband of Florence (Zuckerbraun) Polens, died on Thursday, October 22, 2009. He was born in Springfield, Ohio, on January 7, 1921, son of the late Abraham and Rebecca (Daneman) Polens. In World War II, he served as an X-ray technician with the 247th Army General Hospital, a Mayo Clinic unit, in the Philippines and New Guinea. In New Guinea he said his group was issued machetes before guns so they could clear jungle areas to be able to set up their hospital tents in Nadzab. Working in Philadelphia after his Army discharge, he came home to Stafford "temporarily'" to help run the family business when his father became ill. The "temporary" stay lasted more than 40 years as he took over the Bluebird Shoppe, a women's wear store established by his parents, until his retirement in 1986. At the height of the Cold War, he and the late Steven Jellen, also a medical corps veteran, coordinated setting up a 300-bed emergency disaster hospital in Stafford. Cots, blankets and supplies were stored for years in a Warren Woolen Company building until they were finally reclaimed, unused, by Civil Defense authorities. Long active in Stafford civic and business affairs, he was an early member of the Chamber of Commerce, and served for many years on the town's Water Pollution Control Authority. He was a member of Strazza, Tonoli-Emhoff Post No. 26 of the American Legion, and was secretary-treasurer of the Stafford Industrial Foundation when it developed the town's first industrial park on Monson Road. He was a trustee emeritus of the Stafford Savings Bank, and treasurer of the Congregation B'nai Israel library in Rockville. A past president of the Stafford Library Association, he was also a member of the Stafford Historical Society, and for many years, volunteered at the Bradley Field information desk. He served on the board of the Stafford Public Health Nurse Association, then represented the town when the local agency merged with Visiting Nurse and Health Services of Connecticut, in Vernon. Besides his wife, he leaves his children, Anita, and her husband, Mark Rees of Suffolk, VA; Jared Polens of North Adams, MA; and Rachel Polens of East Meredith, NY. Funeral services will be held at the Introvigne Funeral Home, Inc., 51 East Main St., Stafford Springs, CT on Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 11:15 A.M. Burial will follow in Knesseth Israel Jewish Cemetery, Ellington CT. Officiating will be Rabbi Marshal Press, rabbi emeritus of Congregation B'nai Israel, Rockville, and Rabbi Richard Plavin, of Beth Shalom B'nai Israel, Manchester. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made to Visiting Nurse and Health Services of Connecticut, 8 Keynote Drive, Vernon, CT 06066, or to Beth Shalom B'nai Israel, 400 East Middle Turnpike, Manchester, CT 06040. For online condolences or directions, please visit: www.introvignefuneralhome.com
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