Irene R. Wilkenson

Irene Ruppert Wilkenson was born November 24th 1926, in Lorain, Ohio, daughter of Stephen A. and Marie Ruppert, sister of Stephen C. Ruppert and wife of Floyd Duane Wilkenson Sr. Irene passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 2nd, 2025.

She is survived by her four sons, Floyd Jr. (Skip), Scott, Brad, and Kirk, 8 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and her niece Cindy Neal. Irene attended West Tech High School and went onto college at Miami University of Ohio, and Kent State University in Elyria Ohio. She majored in Radio Broadcasting.

When Irene was 16, she was a riveter on B-29 airplanes at the Cleveland bomber plant during WWII. After the war was over, she worked part-time Cleveland Ohio at Higbee’s Department store, Lord and Taylor and a few others in sales. It was while she was working in Higbee’s that she met her husband, Floyd. She was working in the leather goods department when he came in to do some shopping. After he checked out, he asked her out to lunch and after dating for several months, they were married in March 1948.

Irene was a stay-at-home mother taking care of her four boys until they all reached school age. She then worked as a substitute teacher at a local Catholic school. She also worked at the school board making voice recordings onto records for the different grade levels which she really enjoyed. After the boys finished school she and Floyd traveled.

They went to Europe visiting Germany, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the UK. Irene has lived in Ohio, Florida, South Carolina, and back to Florida residing in Venice.

Irene enjoyed sports and was an avid football and tennis fan; she also loved music and singing, but most of all, she loved her husband, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and all of her family.