Irene Zion

Irene Rose Zion, 94, of New Philadelphia, died Sunday, December 9, 2018 in Country Club Retirement Center following a lengthy illness.

Born in New Philadelphia on October 15, 1924, she was the daughter of the late John Wesley Zion Sr. and the late Michalina (Happy) Zion.

After graduating from New Philadelphia High School in 1942, Irene began working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base at Dayton. After working there for several years and passing background checks by government officials, she began to work with sensitive materials which were labeled “for your eyes only”. Even many years later, Irene never spoke a word about the details of her work. Following her retirement from Wright-Patterson, Irene worked at the State Data Center at New Philadelphia. She was also a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church at New Philadelphia.

She is survived by her brother, John W. Zion, Jr. and his wife, Georgia Ann of New Philadelphia; two nieces, Cathy J. (Jeff) Bleininger and Debra S. Douglass; a nephew, John Michael Zion; great-nieces, Carrie (Todd) Calton, Brittany (Jacob) Myers and Katelyn (Alex) Standiford; great-nephews, Andy (Trish) Gray, Kris (Tyra) Bleininger, Major Sean (Shiron) Zion and T/4 Michael (Jana) Zion and 13 great-great nieces and great-great nephews.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Linn-Hert-Geib Funeral Home & Crematory at New Philadelphia. Father Jeff Coning will celebrate a Mass of Christian Burial in Sacred Heart Church at New Philadelphia on Thursday, December 13, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery at New Philadelphia.

Donations in Irene’s memory may be directed to Sacred Heart Church, 139 3rd St NE, New Philadelphia, OH 44663.