Irene K. Stokes (1924 - 2010)
Irene Stokes
Irene K. Stokes, nee Tykalowicz, 85, of Belleville, Ill., formerly of East St. Louis, Ill., born May 24, 1924, in Spillertown, Ill., died on Saturday, March 6, 2010, at Memorial Hospital, Belleville, Ill.
Irene was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Belleville, Ill. She was a homemaker and an excellent cook.
She was preceded in death by two sons, Louis L. Stokes and Joseph D. Stokes who died in infancy; her parents, Ludwig and Cunegunda, nee Szezepaniak, Tykalowicz; and two brothers, Louis Stevens and Edward Stevens.
Surviving are her husband, Arthur D. Stokes Sr., of Belleville, Ill.; her children, Valree (Joseph) Gallagher of Lake Hopatcong, N.J., Mary (Nick) Fournie of Belleville, Ill., and Arthur "Chip" Stokes Jr., of San Diego, Calif.; her grandchildren, Stacey (Robert) Krok of Hardwick, N.J., Jacob (Ashley) Stokes of Durham, N.C., and Christopher Stokes of San Diego, Calif.; four great-grandchildren, Brenden, Ashlee, Austyn and Logan Krok; her sister-in-law, Bettye Stevens of Seaside, Calif.; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Donations are preferred to the Illinois Center for Autism, Unity Hospice or Masses at St. Mary's Church. Condolences may be expressed to the family online atwww.kasslyfuneral.com.
Visitation: Friends may call from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 11, 2010, and from 11 a.m. to noon on Friday, March 12, 2010 at the Mortuary. at Kassly Mortuary, Fairview Heights, Ill.
Funeral: Funeral procession to leave at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, March 12, 2010, from Kassly Mortuary, Fairview Heights, Ill., for a 1 p.m. Mass of Christian burial at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Belleville, Ill., with Father William McGhee and Father Clyde Grogan officiating. Interment will be in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.
KASSLY MORTUARY, Fairview Heights, Ill.
Published in Belleville News-Democrat from March 9 to March 10, 2010