Irene K Groves, 101, of Leavenworth Kansas, passed away on September 30, 2026, at The Piper Assisted Living in Kansas City, Kansas while surrounded by family and friends. Irene was born November 1, 1924, to Frank and Lona Caton (Rice) in Little Rock Arkansas. On February 28,1926 she was baptized in Tontitown, Arkansas.

 Irene was preceded in death by her father, mother, and seven siblings, Bertha, Earl, Theresa, Walter, Rosemary, Elizabeth, and Sueanne. She was also preceded by her husband John Sr, a daughter Virginia, and her grandson Matthew.

 She is survived by a daughter Lona Prescott of Shawnee, KS, a son John P. Groves, Jr. and his wife Teresa of Leavenworth, KS, grandchildren , Natalie Merritt (Travis) of Kansas City, Mo, Jeanette Gilles of Athens, GA, Pandora Peterman (Eric) of Kansas City, KS, Vanessa Ichrist (Chris), of Grandview, MO, great grandchildren Alexander Gilles, Anthony Gilles, and Aiden Gilles all of Athens, GA, Ami Kessinger of Grandview, MO, Ayden Ontiveros, Keil Coffey, and Meka Merritt, of Kansas City, MO. She is also survived by other nieces, nephews, and cousins nationwide. Irene was the first centenarian in her family’s history. She will be missed.

Irene attended Good Council Grade School in Litle Rock Arkansas. Her father worked as the janitor at the school to pay for Irene and her brothers and sisters to attend. In1939, Irene was accidentally shot at the age of fourteen by hunters while in the woods with her brother Earl. In 1941, while coming home from church during a thunderstorm, Irene was struck by lightning. From 1939-43, Irene attended Mount Saint Mary’s Academy in Little Rock. Shortly after starting her senior year, she moved to Fort Smith, with her sister Bertha and transferred to Saint Annes Academy where she graduated. Irene worked at both schools during her attendance in exchange for room and board. Also, the Academy received $14.00 per month for Irene’s tuition from the National Youth Authority. In 1941 she met PFC John P Groves on her way home after a movie. In 1944, after letter writing romance for several years, and a love letter proposal, on May 10, 1944, Irene married PFC John P. Groves. He had been stationed in Alaska in the Aleutian Islands during the War and John was being reassigned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for artillery training. After their marriage, Irene moved to be with him and arrived at Ft Sill on June 6,1944. On August 12, 1945, Irene gave birth to a daughter Virginia (Jeannie). On January 18, 1947, Irene gave birth to a second daughter, Lona. In 1948, Irene voted in her first Presidential Election. In 1950, John was deployed to Japan during the Korean Conflict, and Irene moved to Yakima Washington to be with her family (her mother) and with the assistance of the GI Bill Irene built a new house for her and John. In 1952, Irene, Lona, and Jeannie were able to travel to Japan to be with John during his assignment there. Irene was an army wife and followed her husband. After they came back from Japan, in 1953, John was reassigned to Ft. Rucker, Alabama were was a supply Sargent. Due to Jeannies’ condition and there were no schools for handicapped children in Alabama, Irene and John sought a transfer to a town that had a handicap school, near an army base. In 1954, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas was their next assignment where John was assigned as a Prison Guard at the USDB. Irene found work at the NCO club as a bookkeeper. On November 11, 1957, Irene gave birth to a son, John P Groves Jr. (aka Skeeter) John Sr. continued his military career until his retirement 1962 as a Sargent First Class. In 1963 Irene and John bought a small farm near the small town of Easton Kansas and raised cattle and pigs for 12 years. In 1970, Irene resigned her position at Fort Leavenworth and took a position with Urban Renewal H.U.D. as the Finance Director. In 1973, Urban Renewal was absorbed into the City of Leavenworth as Community Development where Irene remained as the Finance Director. In 1975 Irene and John sold their farm and moved back to Leavenworth due to Johns health. On June 11, 1977, Irene’s husband John of 33 years died of Lung Cancer. Irene was a resilient woman who never gave up and continued to PERSEVERE. To increase her knowledge and education, she went back to college at Saint Mary College, where she took classes in computer programing. In 1980 Irene was a member of several women’s groups, including The A.B.W.A. (American Business Women’ s Association) Where she held the position of President. She was named Businesswoman of the year by the Centennial Chapter for the year 1980. Irene retired from the City of Leavenworth in 1987 after 17 years of service. From 1988 to the 2000’s Irene decided to be a stay-at-home mom and grandma. She cared for Jeannie and her grandchildren while their parents worked and earned a living. Irene traveled extensively visiting relatives in Washington state, Arkansas, and Illinois. She also visited Sedalia, Mo. where they held annual “CATON” reunions. Irene also attended reunions in Washington state and Arkansas. In the 1990’s Irene started taking art lessons from a local artist. She found it was relaxing and was something she really enjoyed. Irene was an exceptionally good artist; she painted a lot of different scenic landscapes. She also painted a large painting of the USS Constitution for her sister Sueanne. Art was something Jeannie liked to and encouraged her and included her as much as possible. In June of 2000, Irene, with the help of her son and daughter-in-law, held a CATON family reunion in Leavenworth. All her brothers and sister attended except for two. Her sisters Rosemary and Elizabeth (Rita) were the only ones that did not come, due to health reasons. The ones that attended also brought their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. In all fifty relatives spent several days visiting Leavenworth, Kansas. In March of 2011, Irene was faced with the death of her only grandson Matt. Matt had just started living with Irene in 2010 (his room was in the basement) because she needed help with work around the house such as yard work and help carrying groceries. Matt had just turned twenty-one three weeks before losing his life to a drunk driver while helping a stranded motorist. As Irene got older, she knew she was losing her eyesight. In 2017 she gave up driving because she was afraid, she would have a serious accident and hurt herself or someone else. She had to rely on family for help in keeping her home clean and shopping for groceries. She eventually moved in with John and Teresa. She lived there for two years until she had a fall and broke her femur, this made it unable for her to return there. After some time in the hospital and rehab, she moved into Assisted Living.

Funeral arrangements are by Davis Funeral Chapel 531 Shawnee St. Leavenworth, KS. Visitation will be on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, from 5pm to 7pm with a rosary beginning at 5pm. Funeral service will be Thursday October 8, 2026, starting at 11am at Davis Funeral Chapel with burial to follow at the National Cemetery Ft. Leavenworth, KS. A special thanks goes to The Piper Assisted Living Center for the kind and compassionate care they have provided to Irene over the past two and a half years. Special thanks go to Monarch Hospice of Kansas who also assisted with her special needs and end-of-life care. A special thanks goes to Father John and Deacon Dave of St Patricks’ Catholic Church, Kansas City Kansas for their spiritual guidance and prayers during our family’s difficult time. Memorials may be given to Monarch Hospice of Kansas, Sisters of Charity Leavenworth KS, St. Patricks’ Catholic Church, Kansas City, KS or to a charity of the donor’s choice