Colleen Kirby
On Monday, September 27, 2010, at 2:30 pm, current Delaware resident and long-time Prospect resident Colleen Kirby departed this life and entered the presence of Jesus Christ her Lord and Savior. She was born January 18, 1928 to the late Carl C. and Gladys Lenora (Bole) Rippey.
She was a 1945 graduate of Marion Harding High School. Before her marriage she was personal secretary to Robert T. Mason, President of WMRN. She loved to share stories of her experiences at the radio station.
On August 9, 1948, she married Stanley E. Kirby and he survives in Delaware.
She is also survived by four daughters, Karen (Steve) Smith, Prospect; Carole Watkins, Marion; Eileen (Greg) Clemens, Mansfield; Kathleen (Jeff) Ulmer, Delaware; two sons, Linden (Litsa) Kirby, Westminster, Colorado; Mark (Linda) Kirby, Lakeland Florida; two sisters, Jeaneen Stepp, Findlay; Twila Hazen, Marion; 15 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
She also leaves behind several wonderful and supportive caregivers in Ohio and Florida. A special thanks is given to Toni Dunlap for her loving care to Colleen and the Kirby family.
Colleen took great pleasure in her children and grandchildren and their activities. As her children were growing up she was at various times a room mother, den mother, Sunday School Teacher, and VBS teacher. She was also the student activities secretary for Marion Pleasant High School for a number of years.
Colleen loved nature and the outdoors and considered herself a “country girl”. She was very artistic and her family and friends remember her for her ability to create unique Halloween costumes, arrange flowers and vignettes, and provide decorations for numerous parties and church banquets as well as holidays and family events.
Stan and Colleen were longtime members of Calvary Baptist Church, Broadway, OH where Colleen was recording secretary and also did the weekly altar arrangements. Most recently, Colleen was a member of Fellowship Baptist Church, Lakeland, Fl where she and her husband spent the winter months, and Berean Baptist Church, Marion Ohio.
Colleen was a faithful supporter and statistician for her husband throughout his basketball coaching career. In later years Colleen obtained her real estate license and worked as an agent and assistant to her husband in Stan Kirby Realty in Prospect, OH.
Funeral services will be Saturday, October 2, 2010 at 10:00 AM at the Berean Baptist Church, 131 Marion Cardington Road East, Marion where friends may call on Friday, October 1 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8. Revs. Richard Piatt and Charles Reed will officiate and burial will follow in Prospect Cemetery.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Central Ohio - 3380 Tremont Road,
Columbus, OH 43221 (www.alz.org/centralohio) or a charity of the donor’s choice.
The family is being assisted by Stofcheck-Ballinger Funeral Home, Prospect. Condolences and remembrances may be expressed at www.stofcheck-ballinger.com
Stofcheck-Ballinger Funeral Home