Irene Warner

IRENE WARNER LA CROSSE, Wisconsin - Irene Warner, 105, formerly of Muscatine and Iowa City, passed away Thursday, May 15, 2008, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Funeral Service will be 11:00 am, Friday, May 23, 2008, at the First Baptist Church, 3003 Mulberry Ave, Muscatine. Rev. Don Swanson of First Baptist Church will officiate the service. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery. A luncheon will be at First Baptist Church following the committal service at the cemetery. The Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Irene may be made to Bethany Lutheran Homes, 2575 7th St S., La Crosse, WI 54601, La Crosse - Rebecca Myrick Chapter DAR, 1322 31st Pl S, La Crosse, WI 54601, the First Baptist Church, 3003 Mulberry Ave., Muscatine, IA, or a charity of choice. Online condolences for the Warner family may be left at www.wittichfuneralhome.com. Irene was born on April 28, 1903, in Muscatine, Iowa, the daughter of Sylvester and Cornelia Ward Ketchum. She married Dr. Emory Warner on June 18, 1930, in Muscatine. He preceded her in death in 1...[more]

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. They lived in Iowa City throughout his career at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. Irene devoted her life to her family. She was also active in the Iowa City Music Study Club, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Following her husband's death, she moved to La Crosse, WI. She delighted her grandchildren and great-grandchildren with stories of her childhood, farming with horses, cooking on the kitchen wood stove, and delivering milk and eggs in a horse-drawn wagon to neighbors on the way into town for school. She was a graduate of Muscatine High School in 1921. She moved to Iowa City, receiving a BA in sociology from The University of Iowa in 1928. She worked for several years in the sociology and other departments. She is survived and will be missed by her daughters, Carmen (Seymour) Raffety, La Crosse, WI; Carol (James) Mellon, Wildwood, IL; Helen (Eckhart) Dersch, Okemos, MI; grandchildren, David Raffety, La Crosse, WI; Linda (Paul) Kiehne of AZ, Brian Mellon of IL, Erik (Candice) Dersch, Madison, WI, Laurel (Jeff) Ciavarri of MA, and Helen (David) Rieland, Heather (Niels) Moreno, Karl (Lisa) Dersch, and Mark (Christina) Dersch, all of MI; 12 great-grandchildren; and 4 nieces, Phyllis Harden, Muscatine, IA, Ethel Skowronsky, Machesney Park, IL, Bernice Martindale, Stillman Valley, IL, and Leanor Peterson of West Covina, CA. Irene was predeceased by her husband, four brothers Orville, Virgil, Russell and Dwight Ketchum, one sister Grace Harden and nephew Lawrence Harden, both of Muscatine, IA.