Irene Heller

Irene Heller of St. Michaels, MD passed away peacefully at age 97, surrounded with love from her four children and their families. Irene and her husband, Steve, retired to St. Michaels in 1978. Their home on the Miles River was shared with family and friends for more than 30 years beginning when a neighbor dropped by with a bucket of raw oysters and a friendly greeting of “I heard you liked oysters” and they sat down on the lawn to shuck them. Their youngest children, David and Barbara, graduated from St. Michaels High School. With her children grown, Irene began her new career as a volunteer, working for many years at the Cancer Center, Hospice, William Hill Manor and Pines nursing homes, helping at the Waterfowl Festival, and assisting Santa and Mrs. Claus at Christmas in St. Michaels. Irene loved holidays and was a creative seamstress known for her crazy hats, socks, and the costumes and skirts she sewed with holiday fabric. She wore these when she made her visiting “rounds” and when out playing bridge – which she did for many years at the Miles River Yacht Club. She was well known in the Rio Vista community for visiting shut-ins with homemade blueberry muffins. Irene was named a Volunteer of the Year by the Star Democrat and in 2012 was inducted to the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame for her volunteer work. Irene was born in Nassau, Bahamas, the fourth of six sisters. In her twenties, Irene moved to Florida and became a US citizen. She worked at Patrick AFB where she met her husband, Steve, who worked for RCA on the early space program. The family moved around the country following Steve’s career. During their time in Cherry Hill, NJ they enjoyed summer weekends and vacations on their cabin cruiser. St. Michaels and Oxford were favorite destinations. Irene and Steve continued to travel and frequently took small ship cruises throughout the waterways of the East Coast and around the Bahamas. Irene was preceded in death by her sisters and husband. She is survived by her children, Nancy, Chuck, David, and Barbara, and six grandchildren. “Mud”, as affectionately known by her family, was a remarkable woman and we celebrate a life well lived. A memorial service is planned for the spring.

Irene Heller

August 9, 1924 - October 16, 2021