Irene Eveleth Wilkerson Lee died suddenly on May 13, 2023 at her home in Rockville. She was a beloved and loving mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, sister, aunt, and friend. She will be missed greatly by all who had the privilege to know her.
Irene was born in Rand, West Virginia and spent her childhood and teenage years in the Kanawha Valley surrounded by a large extended family. She graduated from Dunbar High School with honors in 1957. She started her professional career at Columbia Gas Company in Charleston, WV. She married Harold G. Lee, her high school sweetheart in 1958 and they started their married life in Morgantown, WV. Harold was a student and Irene worked in the Athletic Department at West Virginia University (WVU).
As an adult, she decided to continue her education and attended West Virginia State College. In 1981, Irene graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Education, Comprehensive. In 1983, she obtained her Master’s degree in Vocational and Adult Education at Marshall University in Huntington, WV. Throughout her successful career in education, she taught various classes throughout the school system, was at one point, head of business education at Garnet Career and Education Center in Charleston, WV, and wrote and headed the Jobs Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Federal Government business education course for adults. In 1986, she was recruited to teach as Assistant Professor and Head of the Business Education Department at Marshall University.
Following her move to Maryland in 1990 to be closer to her daughter, Kathryn, she became head of Human Resources at Arcola Nursing Home in Wheaton where she retired in 2002.
Irene was unusually gifted. She could sing, play the piano, draw, cook, bake, sew, knit, crochet, decorate, and entertain with equal ease and success. She loved to entertain and welcomed all with open arms. Her open house Christmas parties where a fixture of the neighborhoods where she lived. Her intelligence, warm wit, southern charm, and caring nature endeared her to those who knew her. She had a deep and lasting faith and an unwavering love for her family and friends.
Irene is survived by her daughter, Kathryn Eveleth Lee Riseberg (David) and their children, Jonthan, Benjamin (Elizabeth), and Emily. She is also survived by her sisters’, Beverly Ann Martin, Joyce Carol Van Camp, and Linda Louise Witt, and nieces and nephews. She will be deeply mourned by many lifelong friends including: Isabelle Mouysset, Nancy Langille, and Joyce Ryan. She was preceded in death by her husband of 27 years, Harold Guy Lee, and her beloved son, Harold Wayne Lee.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Irene’s memory to the American Heart Association or to the House of Ruth.
A funeral service for Irene will be held on May 24, 2023 at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home, 11800 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20904 with Reverend Adele Crawford officiating. Burial will follow at Rockville Cemetery.
