Ilene Ethel Maloney

Ilene Ethel Maloney (The Queen/Gigi/Lener) of Shoreham, MN and Venice, FL, passed away peacefully on Jan 29, 2024, at the age of 77.  She was born on October 6, 1946, in Fergus Falls to Harold and Ethel Fick, graduated from Detroit Lakes High School in 1965, and was married to Michael Kent Maloney on August 6, 1966.  

Ilene wore several hats throughout her life.  She was a business owner (Phase1 Designs – screen printing), vision impaired aide for the Detroit Lakes school system (she could type braille at a jaw dropping rate), purveyor of lefse, world potato salad champion, school board member, honor student, hockey mom (in the positive sense), snowmobile wife (she pulled her children in a cutter to Pink Cabins where they drank hot cocoa, ate Beer Nuts, and played pinball),  and of course a huge Willie Nelson fan (she brought a rose for him when she saw him in concert in Moorhead, MN last summer).  

But her relentless pursuit of taking care of others as a: wife, mother, grandparent, daughter, sister, auntie, and friend was what really defined her. She took great pride in seeing to the well-being of family and friends.  Back in the 1970’s there was always a bed for someone in need.  A family joke is that you would never die of starvation in her presence as she would ask you multiple times a day if you were hungry; but humor aside, it just showed how much she truly cared.

Ilene lost her soul mate Mike suddenly about a year and a half ago.  Around the same time, her health took a turn.  Even as she was suffering from a broken heart and weakening health, she still wanted to make sure everyone around her was ok.  She also had her wicked sense of humor right up until the end.  On the day of her passing, she welcomed a life-long friend with "here's John to see me in all my glory” (See accompanying photo for another moment of the Queen in her glory).

Summers at the lake (she held court on her deck) and winters in Florida surrounded by family and friends were where she was meant to be. The Queen will be remembered affectionately as a fixture in Shoreham lore, and to no one’s surprise, she and Mike made several fast and dear friends after moving to Venice about 10 years ago.  

She is survived by daughter Elizabeth Maloney (Todd Olson) of Maple Grove, MN; sons Patrick Maloney (Kristie) of Greenville, SC and Brian Maloney of Dominical, Puntarenas, Costa Rica; granddaughter Lindsey Marquette (Dan) of Las Vegas, NV, grandsons Micah Beisner of St Louis Park, MN; and Connor Maloney of Osseo, MN; sister Betty Wilson and brother Steven Fick of Detroit Lakes, MN and several beloved nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and husband Michael.

She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by her family and friends.

A celebration of life will be held on June 12th at 11:00 am at the Shoreham Chapel with a visitation one hour prior.  A reception at the Hotel Shoreham will follow the ceremony.

Her children and grandchildren are eternally grateful for all the love and support given by family, friends, and caregivers.

And a very special thanks to her nephew Randy Wilson for the Peanut Buster Parfait.