Irene Elizabeth (Crockett) Dodge Wise

WEST GARDINER – Irene Elizabeth (Crockett) Dodge Wise lived a long and fulfilled life. A devoted wife, mother, and “gram,” Irene left this world to be with the Lord on April 26, 2026, surrounded by her loving family – in the same town she was born in 95 years earlier.

She was born in Farmingdale on Sept. 27, 1930, to George Henry and Muriel (Boudway) Crockett. She attended the one-room schoolhouse on Northern Avenue in Farmingdale and graduated in 1948 from Gardiner High School.

In 1949 she graduated from the Kennebec School of Commerce and went to work for the Maine State Police’s criminal investigation unit. She loved working there and in later years liked to talk about some of the exciting work that she encountered while there.

She married Carroll Robert Dodge on June 24, 1949. (Carroll died on April 29, 1974.) In 1952, she went to work for the Veteran’s Administration Center, Togus, Maine where she was secretary to the chief of staff until 1969.

Irene married Frank E. Wise on June 15, 1968. They moved to St. Petersburg, Fla. in 1975 and then to Sarasota, Fla. in 1977. Irene went to work in 1975 for the Internal Revenue Service as an IRS auditor in Sarasota, Fla. until her retirement in 1986.

She was an accomplished seamstress and ran her own sewing business in the early ’70s, making beautiful bridesmaid dresses and 100s of children’s stuffed toys. She also loved gardening and watching her favorite birds – cardinals and hummingbirds. After retiring from the IRS, she worked for many years at the Elk’s Lodge in Sarasota, Fla.

She and Frank traveled extensively throughout the 1990s, taking almost 50 cruises around the Caribbean, Pacific, and though the Panama Canal.

Irene was a wonderful Mom and “Gram” and was loved so very much.

She was predeceased by her parents; her husband, Frank Wise (2003); her brother, Leslie Crockett, sisters Marion Botka, Lillian Hodgkiss, and Doris Godbout.

She is survived by her sister, Florence McDonald; her children Debra Carol Dodge-Couture (Greg) and David Robert Dodge (Debra); grandchildren Rebecca Irene McLaughlin (Doug), Amanda B. Couture; Jennifer Jefferson (Adam), David Michael Dodge and his partner Mary Long, and Matthew Dodge; great-grandchildren Derek Malinowski, Xandra Malinowski, Anthony Boyce, Isaac Boyce, Carter Jefferson, Kennedy Jefferson, Daisy Dodge, Jaylynn St. Amand, and Logan Dodge; many beloved nieces and nephews, and a good friend, Donald Goggin.

Thank you to the staff at the Kennebec Assisted Living Center (formerly the Captain Lewis Residence) for their loving care during her last few months on this earth.

Irene’s Celebration of Life will take place on May 17, at 3 p.m. at the Wayside Chapel, 3 West Rd., West Gardiner.

Arrangements and guidance are in the care of Staples Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 53 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Staples Funeral Home website, http://www.staplesfuneralhome.com

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the

Boys and Girls Club of Kennebec Valley

14 Pray St.

Gardiner, ME 04345