Leona K Ilinitch

AIKEN, SC - On January 2, 2019, Mrs. Leona K. Ilinitch, age 97, went to be with her heavenly father at the home of her daughter in Aiken, S. C.
Born Leona Margaret Kaelin on November 26, 1921, in Mt. Holly, N. J., she was the daughter of the late Edward and Martha Kaelin. Her mother was a homemaker and dad a designer and weaver of textiles. She was preceded in death by six of her seven siblings (Eleanor, Edward, Melvin, Vernon, Grace, and Ruth).
Leona married her late husband Walter Joseph Ilinitch on September 26, 1947. Walter was a Bostonian and son of a Baptist minister who preached in Russian to an Eastern European congregation.
Leona had the mind of an engineer and/or artist and could build, paint, sew, or sculpt anything she or anyone else could think of. Friends and friends of friends would bring magazine cut outs, photos, or crude sketches of objects they desired, and she would construct it (them), mostly gratis. She was known for her kindness, generosity, and care of others, certainly friends and family (for she was a loving mother), but also many folks that society had forgotten, preparing them meals, clothing them, and repairing their homes, whatever was required to comfort them.
She is survived by her daughter, Ilona Law (McDonald) Aiken, S. C., her son, Larry Ilinitch (Janine) Easthampton, N. J., three grandchildren, Margaret Law Fields (Matt), Annandale, MN, Kaitlyn Ilinitch, ( Easthampton, N. J.), Todd Alexander Law (Charleston, S.C.), two great grandchildren, Ada (4 years) and Emmett (7 months) Fields of Annandale, MN, and one surviving sister Evelyn Shaw of Westerville, Ohio.
A private funeral service will be held in Mt. Holly, N. J., where she spent 93 of her 97 years. In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to the Aiken County Animal Shelter, 333 Wire Road, Aiken, SC 29801. (www.fotasaiken.org)
"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" Proverbs 31: 29-31.
SHELLHOUSE-RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC