William E. "Gene" Ireland (78) of Beecher City

William E. "Gene" Ireland, 78, of Beecher City died at 6:07am Saturday, June 30, 2018 at his home.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00am Friday, July 6 at St. Elmo Christian Church with Pee Wee Denton and Tom Fedrigon officiating. Burial will follow at Post Oak Cemetery, St. Elmo. Visitation will be from 5-8pm Thursday and for one hour prior to service time on Friday, all at the church. Memorials may be made to Loudon City Cemetery Association, Crossroads Cancer Center or the donor's choice. Gieseking Funeral Home in Altamont is assisting the family with arrangements.

Gene was born on Tuesday, February 13, 1940 in Loudon Township, rural St. Elmo, to Fred Eugene and Manda Elizabeth (Scholes) Ireland. He married Janet L. Kirby on June 23, 1962. He had been an oil rig worker in his younger years, had served as Loudon Township Road Commissioner for many years and was retired from farming. He was a member of the Loudon City Cemetery Association (Post Oak) and a past member of the St. Elmo School Board and Loudon Township Trustees.

Gene is survived by his wife of over 56 years, Janet of Beecher City; sons, Greg (Hope) Ireland, Highland, Rodney (Cindy) Ireland, St. Elmo, and Anthony (Jo) Ireland, Spaulding; sister, Helen Wright, Beecher City; 5 grandchildren, Michael (Yuko), Shelby, Megan, Wade, and Jayna; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Peggy in infancy; son, Jeffrey; brother, Ronald Ireland; sister Delores (Dale) Rhodes; mother and father-in-law, Iva and Clifford Kirby; and brothers-in-law, Wayne Kirby and Lloyd Wright.

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