Remembering Irene Hull, 98

By Will Parry

Irene Hull, a founding member of the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans and for seven decades a feisty, diminutive dynamo at numberless meetings, rallies, marches and picket lines, died of pneumonia March 20. She was 98.

Born in Republic, Kansas, in 1913, Irene joined the Communist Party in 1942 and remained a member throughout her long life. She never lost confidence that, in good time, the working people who were close to her heart would vanquish capitalism and establish a socialist United States, with liberty and justice for all.

She waged a lifelong struggle to bring that day closer.

Irene was a labor activist, a member of Bookbinders Local 87, a founding member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and a delegate to the King County Labor Council. Among her many awards was a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Washington State Labor Council.

For half a century she worked for peace, in Seattle Women Act for Peace and in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

An iconic photo of Irene being carried limp between two hulking Seattle police officers after being arrested during a demonstration at local Republican headquarters was reproduced in quantity by Jobs With Justice and is displayed in union halls across the country.

A memorial is being planned. At the family’s request, memorial contributions may be made to the People’s World, 235 W. 23rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10011.