Obituary

Irene Zalkin Melis, 84, of Charleston, WV, passed away peacefully on May 8, 2026.

Born in Chicago, IL, on December 26, 1941, the older of two sisters, Irene was a graduate of Indiana University in Arts and Languages.

She married Enerio Melis on March 18, 1967, and they spent 61 and a half years  together. They came to Charleston in 1967 and they stayed in Charleston for the rest of their lives.

Of Irene’s sons David Melis (53 yo) lives in Florida and Marc Melis (51) lives in Tempe, AZ and has five children: Anna (23), Elena and Laura (21), Simon (17), and Frank (13).

Irene’s sister Joan Chiponis lives in Henderson, NV, with her husband Larry and her daughter Jennifer Curran and grandchildren Jeremy and Cailene. Joni’s son John Chiponis lives at San Jose, CA, with his wife Fetty and their son (Grant and daughter Leah. Joni’s other son Peter lives in Reno, NV.

Irene and Enerio moved into their 1108 Skytop Circle house in Charleston where they stayed up to now except for periods of time when Enerio was on work assignments away from Charleston.

Irene had a number of jobs as she grew up in Chicago and taught English as a second language in Milan, Italy, and after coming to Charleston she taught as a substitute teacher for French and other disciplines for a number of years in the Kanawha Valley and taught Italian for a few years at the University of Charleston.

Irene also kept up participating for many years in the French Group with other French Teachers to keep current with their practice of the French language.

When Irene came to Charleston she picked up Tennis and played it as a recreational activity.

Irene and her two sons always followed Enerio on all the long term assignments Enerio was assigned to over the years, like Houston, TX, New Orleans, LA, and Munich, Germany, but they always returned to their home in Charleston at the end of each assignment.

Irene and Enerio and their two sons have visited many places in the United States and around the world while always going back to Sardinia and Italy to see Enerio’s family and friends as often as every few years.

Finally, Irene with Enerio started and developed a Real Estate Company, Apartment Management Services, here in Charleston and throughout the State of West Virginia which ran Apartments, Offices, and Shopping Centers and lrene was instrumental and indispensable in the operations and management of the company.

Visitation with friends will begin at 12:00 noon on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at Barlow Bonsall Funeral Home, 1118 Virginia Street East, Charleston

Funeral service will be at 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home, with Rabbi Adam Berman of B’nai Jacob Synagogue officiating. Burial will immediately follow at Sunset Memorial Park, South Charleston, WV.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.barlowbonsall.com.

Barlow Bonsall Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.

The funeral service will be livestreamed beginning at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, May 14, at https://www.youtube.com/live/ANAug0RvJ-o?si=fZz-cxURz2S7AWIA /