Irene Kitchen

Irene Thompson Kitchen, 82, of Lexington, formerly of Hopewell, VA , died November 10, 2007. Born in Blaine, Kentucky on August 29, 1925, a daughter of the late Hobart and Marie Rigsby Thompson, Irene grew up on a farm in nearby Webbville, KY. She attended Morehead State Teachers College and taught at a primary school in Kentucky before marrying LTC James Kenneth Kitchen in 1950. She was a devoted military wife who traveled with and supported her husband, a career officer, who served his country valiantly through WWII and the Korean Conflict. In 1961, they retired near Fort Lee in Hopewell, VA where they resided for 36 years. After her husbandâ??s death, Irene moved to Lexington to be near her son and grandchildren.
She is survived by a son, James Dale Kitchen, two grandchildren, Kaitlin R. Kitchen and J. Cody Kitchen and daughter-in-law Ruth Taylor Kitchen, all of Lexington; and three siblings Ruth Kaminski of Elyria, Ohio; Joe Thompson of Mansfield, Texas; and Alice Bush of Webbville, Kentucky. She was preceded in death by another brother, Hobart Thompson, Jr.
A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, November 17, at Southlawn Memorial Park in Prince George County. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to Rockbridge Area Hospice, P.O. Box 948, Lexington, VA 24450. The family is being served by the Hopewell Chapel of J. T. Morriss & Son Funeral and Cremation Service. Condolences may be registered with www.jtmorriss.com