Wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, Irene passed away at age 95 after a long full life. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Donald A. Carman (1924-2014) whom she adored and her eldest son Bruce (1956-2023).

She is mourned by her family members each of whom loved her deeply: Her children Andrea (late Fernando) and Greg (Andrea), her grandchildren Jacqueline (Paul), Steffani (Reg), Jonathon (Bree), step-grandchildren Tyler (Shannay), Matthew (Mariane), Scott (Sierra) and her great-grandchild Greyson, along with her nephews and nieces Bob, Janis, Lynn and Peter.

Mom was born in Hamilton, Ontario on July 27th, 1929, to parents Thomas and Anne Wardrope who had emigrated from Scotland to Canada in the early 1920's with their infant daughter Mima in arms. Tragically, Thomas died in an accident when Irene was just two years old and Mima, 10. A very resilient Anne Wardrope raised both girls and never remarried. She had a beautiful soprano voice, and the home was filled with music which clearly had a strong influence on Irene. Irene remembered listening to Metropolitan Opera broadcasts on the radio every Saturday as a child.

Irene started singing in concerts and music festivals when she was about 9 or 10 years old. When she was 16, she was fortunate to win a scholarship at the Kiwanis Music Festival in Toronto that enabled her to study with a vocal teacher at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. She achieved her ARCT in Voice performance in 1951 which was the launching pad to a long and successful career in Music.

Irene met the love of her life, Donald Carman, at a summer resort in Muskoka and three months later he was transferred to Montreal with the Bank of Toronto. The happy couple were married in June of 1951, and they began their life together. Irene continued her vocal studies at McGill Conservatory of Music and continued to sing professionally in concerts and on CBC Radio.

Don and Irene moved into their first house in Dorval and before long, the family grew to include son Bruce and daughter Andrea, who kept Mom very busy. She still found time to sing in the local Gilbert and Sullivan Society and in an Operatic Society in Montreal. Don and her children were her first concern and love, but certainly music was her second love and completed her as a person.

In 1966 Don was transferred to Winnipeg, where they bought a house in River Heights and made life-long friends there. Son Greg soon completed the family and while raising her young family, Irene sang with the CBC Choristers and the Opera group at the University of Manitoba ensuring that music filled her days.

In 1969 Don accepted a position at the Head Office of the TD Bank in Toronto. They chose to live in the community of Oakville, then a small town with a population of 59,000 on the shores of Lake Ontario. They joined Knox Presbyterian Church and became very involved in the congregation. Irene joined the Senior Choir; she also directed the Junior Choir. She became a member of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Festival Singers of Canada during that time.  She and Don travelled extensively as a couple and with friends. They visited Britain, Europe, Turkey and China and even made it to the tip of South America, Patagonia. Irene never stopped teaching music and completed a course in "Music in Early Childhood" which allowed her to pursue her love of music by sharing music with young children.

Beautiful, classy, kind, and generous; Mom, you have accomplished so much and given so much more. We thank you; we love you and we will miss you terribly.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at Knox Presbyterian Church, Oakville on June 2nd.
Visitation - 10 am
Funeral Service – 11am
A reception will follow the funeral service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Knox Presbyterian Church or the Red Cross.