Irma Abels Hale, 87, passed away peacefully at High Pointe House in Haverhill, MA, on her birthday, April 2, 2024 and went home to be with her late husband Randall Hale.

She was born Irma Karin Abels, April 2, 1937, outside of Bremerhaven, Germany, just prior to the start of World War II, and was the oldest daughter of Herman and Karla (Straupe) Abels. When the war ended, though still a child, she was enchanted by the kindness of the American soldiers stationed in her town; one in particular gave her an orange.  She had never seen an orange before, or a black man, or anyone who had shown such kindness simply for the sake of itself.  In that moment she knew she wanted to go where that man was from. In 1960, she wrote a letter to the Mayor of Boston requesting sponsorship for a Visa.  His office connected her with a family looking for a domestic employee and in 1962, with $100 to her name and a bag of clothes, she got on a ship and made her way to Boston. In what may have been her proudest accomplishment, in 1969, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Having been a licensed butcher by trade in Germany and having found a way to improvise her way through childhood in a war, she became gifted at 'finding a way' and figuring things out in a way no one else could. These skills proved vital to her success as a domestic employee, and when one of the families asked her if she knew how to make a certain dish, she would say, 'No, but I'll figure it out!'; and she always did.  She formed lifelong friendships with everyone for whom she had worked. Her employer introduced her to more friends, and one of them introduced her to Randy, her husband of 57 years.

She brought her culinary skills to Atkinson, NH, catering meals for all sized dinner parties, cocktail parties, weddings, funerals, and any other occasion someone needed first-class, homemade meals. Operating under the name, "The Party Gourmet," she catered to the elite of Haverhill, Andover, and North Andover.  One of her clients asked if she would make a wedding cake.  She politely passed. The customer was so impressed with her catering, she refused to take 'no' for an answer, which ultimately launched her 30-year career as the premier, custom cake baker in Southern New Hampshire. When this business outgrew the definition of a home business, she opened "Irma's Food Vergnügen" on Route 125 in Plaistow, NH, where she operated for another 20 years until her retirement in 2002.

With an unparalleled attention to detail, a work ethic like no other, and an eye for perfection, she always found a way to get the cake there on time.  Her mission was to create joy and make people happy through her baking and decorating artistry. "Nothing compares to an Irma Cake…"

Irma "Oma" leaves behind her son Alan Hale and his wife, Julianna (Cox) Hale, her two "Schnookiputz" grandchildren, Daniel and Rachel, all of Atkinson; her brother, Günter Abels and his wife, Sophia, of Bad Zwischenahn, Germany; her sister Christa Sahr and her husband Jürgen Sahr, of Bremerhaven, Germany; her niece Gabriella Sahr Barkmann and her husband Thomas, and their three children Clara, Luca, and Leo, of Germany.

Family and friends are invited to attend calling hours on Wednesday, April 10, 3pm-5pm at Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home, 116 Main St. Plaistow, NH., followed by a 5:15 memorial service in the chapel. Interment will be held privately.  To show her gratitude for the unparalleled care she and Randy received from Dr. Mary Pearson, Irma asked that any support offered be made to New Creations Healing Center: https://www.newcreationhc.org/