Irving D. Merens, 84, a retired electronics and sales engineer with Mid-America Co., died Sunday, Feb. 17, in the Village Nursing Home in Skokie of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. Raised in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood, Mr. Merens graduated with honors from Von Steuben High School in 1936, then went on to study at the Armour Institute, now the Illinois Institute of Technology. After World War II broke out, Mr. Merens enlisted in the Navy, serving four years as a radar technician. In 1946, he returned to Chicago where he took a job as an electronics and sales engineer for Mid-America Co., managing locations throughout Chicago. In 1951, he met his wife, Goldia, at a dance at a Jewish synogogue. The two married the next year and had two sons. Mr. Merens enjoyed visiting major league baseball stadiums and would plan out-of-town trips with his family just to see a baseball game, family members said. Enthralled by radio and television technology, Mr. Merens, a longtime Skokie resident, would use his talents and free time by repairing televisions and radios in his basement. When color televisions hit the market, he studied up on the new technology so he could continue his side job. “He just liked to take everything apart and make it brand new,” said his son, Norwin. In 1984, Mr. Merens retired from Mid-America after 38 years of service. Besides his wife and son, survivors include another son, Lyle; and two brothers, Seymour and Lyman. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Piser Chapel, 9200 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie.
