Irene Mae Turner was born in Faunsdale, Alabama. She was the eldest child of five children born to Tom and Sarah Bass Cox. The family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where she attended Lincoln Elementary and A. H. Parker High Schools. Thereafter, she studied for three and a half years at Miles College, also in Birmingham. Irene confessed Christ at an early age, uniting with Galilee Baptist Church in Birmingham. In 1963, she relocated to Lansing, Michigan and joined Union Missionary Baptist Church, under the leadership of Reverend Charles J. Patterson. She was meticulous in her dress and always stylish. Irene was a devoted sister, aunt, friend and true volunteer servant. She spent her life being very active and independent. She did the things that she loved most including ceramics, traveling, visiting with her siblings and relatives, fine dining, shopping, volunteering, and knitting. She was an avid bowler and loved doing various word puzzles. She especially enjoyed volunteering for her church in many capacities. She volunteered as church receptionist, Pastors Appreciation League, hostess at the Riverview Restaurant, Treasurer of Union Missionary Baptist Church Seniors Ministry, and ushered for many years. She also enjoyed phone banking, and other volunteer tasks, for local politicians. She retired from General Motors, Oldsmobile Plant Five, after 33 years of service and was a member of U.A.W., Local Union #652. After retiring, she was employed at J. C. Penney, for over 5 years. She is preceded in death by her parents, Tom Cox, and Sarah Bass Cox. God saw Irene was getting tired, so he wrapped HIS arms around her and whispered, Come up with me to a higher ground. On February 22, 2012, He called her from labor to rest. She leaves to cherish her loving memory: her son, Antonio B. Mack, Sr.; two sisters, Charlotte (Frank) Nivens of Durham, North Carolina and Ernestine Cox Mack of Stone Mountain, Georgia; two brothers, Herbert (Joyce) Cox of Atlanta, Georgia and James Otis (Shirley) Cox of Birmingham, Alabama; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other family members, and friends, including a lifelong family friend and brother-in-Christ, James Watts of Lansing, and her beloved church family.