Irene Mary Smith Suckow passed away peacefully on January 20, 2026, at Pleasantview Home in Kalona, Iowa. Irene was born to Frances (Koons) and Leonard Smith on January 6, 1930, at the Postville Iowa, Hospital. The hills, dales and streams between Postville and Waukon, known as the Driftless Region, were the playground for much of her childhood alongside her sister, Evelyn and her brother, Sydney. Irene was the oldest of nine siblings. She found refuge at Forest Mills Country School, where she always spoke of the encouragement she received from her teacher, Curtis Webster. When it came time for high school she lived with relatives, including her great grandmother, and graduated from Fayette High School in 1948. She was determined and independent from a very young age. Irene secured a summer job at a Wisconsin resort at age 16 where she waited on guests, cleaned rooms, etc. When it came to butchering chickens to make the resort’s famous chicken dish, no one volunteered for the job so Irene stepped up and did the job.
Irene was working at Gordenier Cleaners in Postville when she took her watch to Suckow Jewelry to be repaired. The jeweler, Marvin asked her out and they were married in July 1950 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. Daughters Valerie and Anita were born in the next few years. Irene had exceptional skills in cooking, baking, sewing, gardening, and refinishing furniture, which made a very nice home for her family. She worked from sun up to sundown and knew the value of a short nap after lunch as well. When Marv and Irene decided to have a garage added to their house in the 1960s, it was Irene who dug the footings as Marvin had physical difficulties from polio. She enjoyed hosting Sunday dinner for her sisters and their families and was known for her excellent fried chicken.
Irene belonged to the Community Presbyterian Church in Postville for many years where she served as a deacon for a time. As she did not grow up in church, she found she needed to read the Bible from cover to cover.
Irene worked many years in the laundry department at the Good Samaritan Home in Postville. She was always an avid gardener in the summer and quilter in the winter, but really enjoyed doing these activities full time after retirement. She never met a stranger and enjoyed the multi-cultural experience in Postville, socializing and helping out her neighbors from Guatemala and Israel.
She proudly volunteered her time and talents sewing baby blankets for newborns in Tanzania and reading to toddlers during MOPS meetings in Kalona. She spent her final five years at Pleasantview Home where she was known for her great smile and enjoyed arranging cut flowers.
Irene is survived by her children, Valerie Hartkemeyer (Richard) of Kalona, Iowa and Anita Kouris of Sioux City, Iowa; grandchildren, Jared (Vicky) Hartkemeyer, Whitney (Jeff) Kamradt, Rory (Bee) Hartkemeyer and Emily Bahndorf. She is also survived by great grandchildren, Sydney, Kal and Thea; Bodhi, Alfie, and Eve; Henry and Reed; Claire and Owen and Ryan. Irene’s surviving siblings are Sidney (Lila) Smith, Doris (Roger) Potts, Jackie Berndsen, Opal (Richard) Goeke and sister-in-law Lola Suckow.
Irene was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin; parents, Leonard and Frances Smith; sisters, Evelyn (Roy) Highley and Susan Smith; brothers, Ivan and John Smith; brothers-in-law, Frank Banes, Roy Highley Sr., and John Berndsen, and her son-in-law, Dean Kouris.
Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 am with a Visitation from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Monday, January 26, 2026 at the Community Presbyterian Church in Postville, Iowa with Pastor Karla Johnson as the officiant.
Interment will be held at a later date.
Memorials may be made to Community Presbyterian Church, Postville; Iowa, Pleasantview Home, Kalona or the Washington County Hospice.
Schutte-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Postville, Iowa is assisting the family with services.