Irene Annette (Meyer Cobean) Schroeder

Irene Annette (Meyer Cobean) Schroeder, age 92, died on October 25, 2015 in Menomonie, WI. She was born in Glen Haven, WI on March 14, 1923 to George A. and Melvina (Kipper) Meyer. She grew up on a farm and loved helping with chores and playing with her many cats and kittens. After graduating from Bloomington High School in 1940, she worked in the war defense effort at Farley and Loetcher in Dubuque, IA. In 1945 she joined the US Coast Guard and was stationed in New York City and Washington, DC. She was extremely proud of her military service. In 1946 she married Junius E. Cobean, Jr. and they had one daughter, Janis. They later divorced. She worked for many years at the Hill Directory Company in Alexandria, VA. She then moved back to Wisconsin, working at Stonefield Village in Cassville. She married Lloyd Schroeder of Postville, IA. They later divorced. She then went back to school and became a CNA. She worked in nursing homes, the Veteran’s Hospital in Tomah, WI and did home care nursing in the Hazel Green and Cuba City area. After retiring she lived in Platteville, Plum City and Menomonie, WI. Her favorite pastime was working crossword puzzles – in pen. She loved having fresh flowers in her home. In September 2012 she was honored to participate in the Freedom Honor Flight to Washington, DC and to be honored at the Women in Service to America Memorial.
Irene is survived by her daughter Janis (Kenneth) Kartman of Arkansaw, WI; her granddaughter, Bethann (Bruce) Mahle of Plum City, WI; nieces and nephews, Joanne (Bill) Guess of Camp Douglas WI , Jane (Dennis) Meeker of McFarland WI, Paul (Cheri) Mergen of Madison WI, Carl Mergen of Bloomington WI, Morrie (Pat) Schauff of Platteville WI, Ken (Sharon) Schauff of Cassville WI, Mary Kauffman of Durand WI, Ilene Schauff of Fort Worth TX, Susan (Fred Rodriguez) Schauff of Fort Worth TX, Marilyn Meyer of Appleton WI, and Robert (Pat) Meyer of Madison WI; many great and great-great nieces and nephews; and a brother-in-law, Ray (Joan) Cobean of Springfield, VA and their children Debra, Denise and RB. She is also survived by special friends Joyce and Terry Seng of Platteville, WI and Betty Biondich of Menomonie, WI. She was preceded in death by her parents, two sisters and their husbands, Lorraine (Peter) Mergen and Geraldine (Gus) Schauff; one brother and his wife, Vestiner (Elaine) Meyer; a niece, Sue Mergen and her favorite pet, Penelope.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, November 1 at the Casey Funeral Home in Cuba City, WI and on Monday, November 2 for an hour prior to the funeral service at the St. Rose Church, Cuba Burial will be in the Goekel Cemetery, rural Glen Haven, WI later that day with military honors accorded by the Temperly-Duncan American Legion Post of Hazel Green, WI.
Memorials may be given to the Salvation Army in your area, the Women in Service to America Foundation of Washington, DC, and the Freedom Honor Flight of LaCrosse, WI. Special appreciation is given to the caring staff at Our House Senior Living, Menomonie, WI, Interim Hospice, and the Outreach for Homebound at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Menomonie, WI.