Irene H. Painter

Irene Helen Calvin Painter passed away on Monday, October 23, 2023. She was 91 years old. She was born in Cranesville, Pennsylvania in 1932. She was the oldest of four children born to Paul and Thelma Calvin. Her parents and her brother Virgil and his wife Joan preceded her to heaven. Gerry Smith (Gene and Robert – deceased), her sister, lives in Melbourne, Florida. Her brother, Edward Calvin and his wife Olivia live in Chelsea, Alabama. Irene was a great role model for her siblings. They remained close for her whole life, since they had been taught to value family relationships.

Irene graduated from Springboro High School in 1950 at the top of her class. She then went on to work at Westinghouse where she met her husband, Richard Painter. They were married in 1958 at the United Church of Springboro. They first lived in Sharon, PA, then moved to Louisville, Ohio and finally settled in Tiffin, Ohio where they lived for over 40 years and raised their two daughters Lynne (Ron) Noark and Jill (Brian) Watson. Richard succumbed to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 2002. The girls grew up in a wonderful Christian home where they were taught to serve others and to always help their neighbors, just as their parents did.

Irene worked as a secretary for a short time, until she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. Irene graduated from Heidelberg College in Tiffin in 1974 with high honors. She taught at Hopewell Loudon for 17 years. Her favorite grades were fifth and sixth grade. When both Irene and Richard retired, they traveled with friends and often shared stories of their delightful trips when returning home. Their house was full of laughter and a place where all felt welcome.

When she and Richard were blessed with their first grandchild, Matthew, they spent countless hours enjoying time with him. His sister Elizabeth was born eight years later. Unfortunately, “Grandpa” did not get to know her, as he died when she was 2 months old. “Nana”, however; was very active in all aspects of her grandchildren’s lives. After Matthew and Elizabeth (Lynne’s children), Daniel and Samuel entered the world. (Jill’s children) Nana attended sporting events, dance recitals & competitions, school functions, and graduations. If her grandchildren were involved, Nana was there. She played taxi and babysitter among her numerous roles, but most importantly she was a woman of great faith and modeled that daily for her family. She even “adopted” the neighborhood children in Ohio as her grandchildren.

Irene was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Tiffin for over 50 years. She taught Sunday School when her girls were young, but also helped out with other projects when needed without hesitation. Richard and Irene were snowbirds to Florida for a number of years. In 2017, Irene became a fulltime Florida resident in Brooksville, Florida. She wanted to be closer to her daughters and her sister. Family time was very important to her. Nana loved to cook favorite foods for her family, but also had a knack for discovering her family’s roots. She was known to be very tenacious at uncovering her family’s genealogy. Other hobbies she enjoyed were reading, crafting, scrapbooking, and shopping. In assisted living, during her last year, she loved singing Gospel songs with her next door neighbor and reading her bible.

One of her greatest joys was attending the wedding of her grandson Matthew and his wife Alexis in 2019. Nana was also blessed to become a “Great Nana” in 2022 when Matthew and Alexis welcomed their sweet daughter Payton as an addition to our family. Mom, “Nana”, “Great Nana”, Aunt Irene, sister, and Irene will be missed by her siblings, children, grandchildren, friends, nieces, and nephews – Terry (Barb) Calvin, Tom and Bill Calvin, Eric Painter, Karen Hagan, Linda Painter, Dale Calvin, Doug (LaShane) Calvin, DiAnna Calvin, DeAnna (Ken) Horton, and Karen Harshaw, plus all of her great nieces and nephews.

To live a life so full is truly a blessed life! We can rest assured that this faithful servant of the Lord is busy doing His will in heaven, where she has been reunited with her loved ones. A memorial service is planned for July of 2024 in Pennsylvania, where the family will spread the ashes.