She was born and raised in Rathbun, Iowa by her parents Ryman and Ruby McDanel.
Irene married Glen VanDorin in 1938 and together they had five children. The couple settled in Colorado but ultimately divorced. She later met Roy Seward and they married on August 16, 1953. Together they made their home in Eaton, where Irene worked at the Eaton Post Office until her retirement.
Irene was always on the go and up for any adventure. She traveled often from Atlantic City and New York to Seattle and San Francisco and anywhere in between. She went to Ireland twice and enjoyed trips to Branson. She loved Bingo most of all but wouldn’t pass up a card game or a trip to Blackhawk to gamble. She helped cook at the Ault Senior Center for many years and was a member of the Red Hat Society. She enjoyed crocheting, knitting and quilting. She finally gave up driving well into her 90’s although anyone who rode with her thought she should have considered that decades earlier. In her later years, Irene was able to cross several things off her Bucket List including riding in a hot air balloon and sky diving. She reluctantly decided she wasn’t going to get to try diving in a shark cage.
Irene was preceded in death by her husband, Roy, twin sons, Ronald and Richard, parents and siblings, Ione Espy and Wayne McDanel.
She is survived by her children, Judy Mericle (Carson), David VanDorin and George VanDorin (Melanie); five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; sister, Faye Sharp and numerous nieces and nephews.
A Visitation will be from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Monday, January 11, 2021 at Stoddard Funeral Home followed by a graveside service at 11:00 a.m. at Sunset Memorial Gardens.
