Owen "Jake" Ireland

Jake passed away on Friday evening, June 24th, in his room at The Mount Pleasant Retirement's Assisted Living apartments, Monroe, OH. He was 99 ½ years old and was very sharp till almost the end.

Born in West Virginia, he graduated from West Virginia University in 1938. He then came to work for The American Rolling Mill in 1939 where he worked for 43 years. He worked his way up through various positions. The two final responsibilities were Works Metallurgist and then Area Superintendent. He was well thought of by the women and men who worked for him.

He was Armco's representative on the Flat Roll Committee of the American Iron and Steel Institute and served as chairman of that group. He was also a member of the American Society of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers.

He helped organize the Toastmasters Club of Middletown and the Middletown Chapter for Preservation of Barbershop Singing in America which he sang with for many years.

He was an avid golfer and occasionally shot his age or less. He was a continuous member of Wildwood Golf Association from 1939 to 2000 and a former member of The Meadows Country Club of Sarasota Florida. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and former member of St. Paul's United Church of Christ. He served on the governing boards of both churches. He served as Sunday School superintendent and once served as President of the Middletown Council of Churches.

He was a member of the Middletown Rotary Club, served on their board and was a Paul Harris Fellow.
More recently he was honored as the Grand Marshal for the 2015 Memorial Parade in Middletown.

During WWII, he was a lead bombardier for the 15th Airforce flying out of Italy. He received several citations, the most cherished of which was the Distinguished Flying Cross for destroying the vital German bridges in the Brenner Pass.

He lost his beloved wife Lois in February 2015. He is survived by his son Jeffrey and wife Gunta Ireland and his daughter Janis and husband Scott Nein as well as four grandchildren and two great grandchildren with another one on the way.

Funeral services will be held at The Mary H. Kittredge Chapel at Mount Pleasant Retirement Village 225 Britton Lane, Monroe, OH. on Tuesday July 5th at 1pm. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. The burial will take place at Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum.

The family would like memorial gifts sent to Mount Pleasant Retirement Village, c/o Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Service Foundation, 1001 Kingsmill Parkway, Columbus, Ohio 43229 with the donation designated to benefit the Mt. Pleasant Assisted Living Activities Fund, Monroe, Ohio.

Funeral Home:
Wilson-Schramm-Spaulding
3805 Roosevelt Blvd.
Middletown, OH
US 45044