Irma Runge Obituary

Irma Jayne Runge CHARLOTTE, NC - Irma Jayne Runge, age 97, passed away peacefully on Monday, March 4, 2024, in Charlotte, NC. Irma and her husband, the Rev. Ed Runge, moved to Charleston in 1962 to serve Calvary Lutheran Church, a small mission church on upper Rutledge Avenue, which quickly grew and moved to its current site in West Ashley. For most of her professional life, Irma worked on King St., then the retail hub of the city. She spent over 20 years with Lesser-Tanenbaum, which was an extended family and where she developed an extensive network of friends and acquaintances. With the unusual Runge surname, her children grew up with the common refrain of Oh, you must be Irma's... when introduced anywhere in Charleston. After Ed's retirement from Calvary Church, Irma and Ed moved to Sullivan's Island where Irma operated a concierge service business for property owners at Wild Dunes. Irma and Ed moved to Oviedo, FL, in 1996, where Ed passed away in 2002. Irma returned to the Charleston area in 2007 to Mt. Pleasant where she felt most at home. She found great purpose in her volunteer work with Alzheimer's patients, for 12 years providing daily activities for her clients and needed respite for their families. She was honored for her steadfast commitment by the Alzheimer's Association of Charleston. In 2021, she moved back to Charlotte for a living situation conducive to her age and medical issues. Irma will be remembered as a loving and outgoing lady who warmed those around her over all 97 years with her smile and laughter. She often wondered aloud why God left her on this earth so long, and she decided the purpose was for her to bring joy and encouragement to others. That seemed to be an easy task for her, as she never met a stranger and was unfailingly optimistic, living a faith-filled life as a devoted Christian. She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Charlotte. Irma is survived by her four children, on whom she and Ed impressed the importance of living lives of service -- Richard Runge of Charlotte, a retired Lutheran pastor, Mary Jacob of Seattle, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, Edgar Jr. (Skip) of Mt. Pleasant, SC, a mental health professional, and Jeffrey Runge of Charlotte, a physician. She adored her eight grandchildren, Christopher Runge (Concord, NC), Eric Runge (Charlotte), Timothy Runge (Indiana, PA), Jennifer Jacob (Seattle), Elizabeth Jacob-Files (Seattle), Jacob Addison Runge (1990-2018), Emily Bast (Charlotte) and William Runge (Brooklyn, NY), her thirteen great-grandchildren, and her devoted nieces, Vicki Jayne and Ruth Ann Bowen, children of her departed siblings. Irma's ashes will be interred at Grace Lutheran Church in Ormond Beach, Florida, alongside her life partner, Ed, as they are reunited in Paradise. Arrangements made by Kenneth Poe https://kennethpoeservices.com/obituaries.