Irma Perpignon Kujat

Irma Perpignon Kujat, Age 98, December 21, 2024. Beloved wife of Rodney for 76 years. Loving mother of Michael, Thomas (TwoMoons), Theresa (Paul) Simmons, Suzanne (Craig) Pasechnik, Mary Anne Martin, Janet (Robert) McCausland, Nancy Rozum and Jonathon. Grandmother of 21, step-grandmother of 17, great-grandmother of 20, and great-great-grandmother of 4. Irma was preceded in death by her husband Rodney (2019), her daughters-in-law Joann Burniac Kujat (1979), Joyce Jones Kujat (2022), and her son-in-law Gary Rozum (2022), as well as her mother, Erna, and father Max Perpignon, brothers Karl, Robert and Richard and her sisters Gertrude Cooper, Helen Platts and Louise Schoettle. Irma carved out a full and vibrant life. In addition to raising her eight children, she served as a Girl Scout leader for 15 years, was a member of the St. Suzanne Church Rosary Altar Society and served as a teacher in the CCD program. Later she served as a Eucharistic Minister and as chair of St. Anne’s Circle at St. Dennis Catholic Church in Lexington, Michigan. Over the years she also volunteered at the St. Mary’s Food Bank in Wayne, Michigan, the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, and as an election worker for the City of Wayne. She also donated legions of toilet paper rolls for the small animals at the Michigan Humane Society. In addition to her numerous volunteer works, Irma was a telemarketer for Great Lakes Lumber and Supply Company, selling home improvement projects; a bank teller at National Bank of Detroit, a secretary in the Department of Corrections; a meal site manager for the Thumb Area Commission on Aging; an innkeeper at Metivier Inn on Mackinac Island; and a greenhouse worker (and Mrs. Claus to Rodney’s Santa) at Keller & Stein Florist in Canton, Michigan. Irma enjoyed baking and knitting hairpin lace afghans and potholders. She was an avid reader and gardener, winning several awards from the City of Wayne for her beautiful flower beds. She loved animals including her beloved dogs, Athena and Eric, a stray cat named Tuna, and all wild birds. She also loved being outdoors and fulfilled a dream when she and Rodney purchased 70 acres and built a vacation home in the woods of West Branch, Michigan. She enjoyed traveling, visiting most states in the nation including Alaska and Hawaii as well as Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico, France, Germany, and England. She toured a glacier by helicopter, walked the Mackinac Bridge, and tent camped across the U.S. with kids and hats for Sunday church in tow. Irma’s final years were dedicated to caring for Rodney. She and Rodney moved into The Willows in Howell, Michigan, in September 2019. While Rodney passed shortly after they moved, in the remaining five years that she lived at the Willows she still worked hard at enjoying life, her friends and her family. Visitation is Friday, December 27, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the O'Brien-Sullivan Funeral Home, 41555 Grand River Ave., Novi, MI, 248-348-1800. In-state Saturday from 10:30 a.m. until the funeral Liturgy at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church, 24505 Meadowbrook Rd., Novi, MI. Luncheon to follow at 12:30 at Bakers of Milford Restaurant, 2025 S. Milford Rd., Milford, MI, 48381 (248-685-0505). Inurnment will be at Great Lakes National Cemetery at a later date.

Irma Perpignon Kujat

January 16, 1926 - December 21, 2024