Irene Denholm was a beautiful person and will be missed
Vale Irene Denholm
Tributes are pouring in for Irene Denholm, a stalwart in the town for more than 30 years, who passed away last week from heart failure. She was 72.
Her smiling face, engaging personality, huge energy and an extremely popular figure across the community, will be long remembered and she will be sorely missed by many.
There will be a celebration of her life at Palmer Sea Reef golf course at 2pm on Thursday.
Newsport has assembled the following tributes to Irene from some of her friends:
Faye Lilley:
I’m struggling to accept that my dear friend Irene is gone. It has left me with emptiness and great sadness. 30 years ago this gorgeous blond crazy fun Scottish girl swept into Port Douglas with a big smile and an outrigger canoe! I became hooked on outrigger canoeing and found a friend for life.
She started the Port Douglas Outrigger Canoe Club and we all got caught up in her passion, enthusiasm and zest for life.
Irene and I did everything together back then, I have a million memories, photos, funny stories and shared a million laughs over a sav blanc!
Always caring, gracious, elegant, funny and life of the party.
I’m sorry we never got to have that game of golf.
My deepest sympathy goes to Hughie, her partner of over 20 years, and her family. Port Douglas has lost an absolute treasure and I’ve lost a beautiful friend.
Cathie Jones:
It is indeed a sad week with the loss of our dear friend Irene Denholm.
Irene was kind, generous, funny, a hard worker and a good friend to those that knew her. She had a great sense of humour, enjoying a joke and a laugh with friends.
I never heard her say an unkind word to anyone
She loved her golf and the added challenge of playing for a lotto ticket with her competitors.
Rest In Peace my dear friend. We will miss you.
Ritsuko Dickinson:
I first met Irene during 2000 while I was still living overseas but visited Port Douglas very often.
She was always friendly and helpful. Irene and I joined The Links Golf Course (now Palmer Sea Reef) almost at the same time and was always available to play a round of golf with me whenever I was in town.
Since I moved here to live permanently in Nov/Dec 2004, we became very close friends.
We played golf almost every Saturday together and I enjoyed her company. Our friendship was further deepened when I joined Port Village Realty as a real estate agent in 2010 and merged with Ray White in 2011.
She became my mentor as I felt her working ethos was impeccable. She was dedicated and a caring person to everybody and her reputation from the Buyers or the Sellers were exactly the same: a very popular lady.
She was very knowledgeable and her professional attitude was above reproach. She had a phenomenal memory for first and family names of all the people she dealt with whether they were buying or selling．
She was a caring and thoughtful human being and I consider it a privilege to have known her.
Greatly missed and I’m still devastated.
RIP Lovely Irene and the deepest condolences to Hughie.
Sue Jones:
I moved to Port Douglas in 1995 and have known Irene for many years, and first met her when I worked at a real estate office, where she was the receptionist.
In recent years we were connected again through playing golf at Palmer Sea Reef and her friendship with Paula and Sno Morrish. Through that friendship I gained a dog! Rocky, belonging to Paula and Sno.
When Paula became ill, Irene offered to find a home for him … and that was mine, I’m very happy to say.
As I had been involved in Ozcare as a volunteer, I was asked by Irene to come with Paula and Sno to look at the option of Sno moving there. Over many months, Irene and Karen Burchill visited Sno, and I did too, so our mutual bond was formed.
I’ve always enjoyed Irene’s company, on and off the golf course. Her love and enjoyment of life always infectious, and her generous nature and kindness was appreciated by all her friends.
I was fortunate to know her, and she will always be remembered.
Margie Nelson:
Wicked sense of humour and a plethora of crazy Scottish jokes
Always looked and dressed as she was about to meet an important dignitary… even doing a Coles shop!
Always very bright and colourful!
Told great stories of her younger years in the Whitsundays, Western Australia and the early days of PD.
Not forgetting her love of her “boy” Hughie
I will miss her terribly.
Julie and Rob White:
I first met Irene at The Clink Theatre when it opened at the end of 1992. I loved her accent,(had trouble understanding it for a while), and her sense of humour.
She was friendly and easy to get to know and Irene volunteered for front of house and the bar roster over the years. We, (Rob & I) would get her advice and help in various real estate situations too.
From about the early 2000’s we’d see each other and sometimes play together at golf – not bosom buddies, but always the best of casual friends. Some time back Sue Jones & I , appropriately attired, attended Irene’s 60th birthday party at the upstairs of the barrier Reef Tavern – great fun!
Irene bravely coped with several serious medical problems in recent years always coming back smiling.
Most recently, May 2021, I will remember Irene’s generous offer to drive Rob for one of his daily visits to Mossman hospital while I had my long overdue hair appointment. It was so appreciated!
Such a shame I was never able to return the favour.
Thank you!
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