Jean Wilson Kirby

Mrs. Jean Wilson Kirby, of Bransford Road, Augusta, passed away peacefully at the age of 78 after a courageous fight against cancer.
Mrs. Kirby was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY in 1939 to Manhattan lawyer Peter Wynn Wilson and Agnes Milton Wilson. The eldest of three tightly-bonded sisters, she grew up in Rockville Centre, NY. She was Outstanding Girl Graduate of St. Agnes School in 1957. A scholarship student, she graduated from the College of New Rochelle in 1961. After coursework at Harvard University, Mrs. Kirby began an elementary school teaching career before meeting future husband Robert P. Kirby, fresh out of the U.S. Navy and Harvard Business School. The two married in 1963 and embarked on a life of home, family and community involvement.
Mrs. Kirby was a loving wife, mother and grandmother, a devoted daughter, sister and friend. She was always at her husband's side. She enjoyed life to its fullest and was a spirited sportswoman with an active lifestyle. She and her husband's world travels spanned six continents, from bicycling the southern European countries to motorcycling the United States, Europe and New Zealand. They canoed the Zambezi River in Africa, sailed the Caribbean islands, and hiked the trails of the Sierra Nevada and Appalachian mountains. They skied the slopes of California, Colorado, Utah, Vermont and Switzerland.
A cosmopolitan, Jean was a gracious hostess who made friends easily, having lived in multiple cities, including New York, San Francisco, Boston and Houston, before settling in Augusta in 1985. Always an active partner in her husband's career, she served on the Board of Directors of Castleberry's Foods Company between 1991 and 2005, the years of its rejuvenation and growth nationally. She was a member of the Suburban Garden Club and volunteered in many local charities and organizations, including working with special needs children at the Ursula Collins Elementary School and teaching adult literacy. She was a board member of the Augusta Opera. In the early 2000s, Mrs. Kirby was asked by Dr. Daniel W. Rahn, then president of the Medical College of Georgia, to join a steering committee for improving the patient experience at MCG. In her recent life-struggle with cancer at Augusta University Health hospital, she personally experienced how dramatically that committee had succeeded in its endeavor.
Mrs. Kirby summered at her family home in Bridgewater, VT, where she was an enthusiast of mountain sports. With her husband, she was active there with numerous local charities, including the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, for which Mr. Kirby was President of the Board of Trustees. Bright, charming and unflappable, in 2011 she was chosen to be the dinner partner of United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer. The education of her children was a top priority. She was a member of the University Club of New York in Manhattan.
With her husband Robert, Mrs. Kirby supported the arts and humanities in Augusta for over three decades. They supported the United Way, the Morris Museum of Art, Children's Hospital of Georgia, the Augusta Symphony, Springfield Village Park Foundation, Augusta Tomorrow and Historic Augusta, as well as dozens of other organizations. In May the Kirbys were recognized with the 2018 Liberty Bell Award by the Augusta Bar Association for their outstanding public service and community involvement.
The Kirby family has been a generous supporter of charitable organizations nationally and internationally, as well. Its overarching aim is to: improve the lives of those less fortunate, protect the environment, support the arts, fund medical research and promote educational excellence.
Preceding Jean in death were her father Peter and her mother Agnes. She is survived by her husband Robert P. Kirby and sisters Margaret W. O'Connor and A. Patricia Quigley. She will be remembered as a warm and sensitive mother to three surviving children, and as "Nana" to nine precious grandchildren: daughter Laura K. Melbourne, her husband David F. Melbourne Jr. and their children David F. III, Kirby Ann, Timothy and Scott living in Rancho Santa Fe, CA; son Dr. Peter Wynn Kirby, his wife Hau Ming Tse and their children Lucian, Sasha, and Laurel living in Oxford, England; and her son Robert P. Kirby Jr., his wife Katherine Fiona Kirby, and their sons Angus and Sebastian living in Sarasota, FL.
In Mrs. Kirby's honor, please consider a memorial contribution to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, at 11:00 A.M. at the Sacred Heart Cultural Center, Augusta, GA. A visitation will be held on Monday, June 4, 2018, from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. at the Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Home, 214 Davis Road, Augusta, GA 30907. A Mass will be held at the Mendell Cemetery, Bridgewater, VT, on Friday, June 8, 2018, at 11:00 A.M. The burial will be conducted by Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock, VT.
The family would like to thank caregivers Shirley Cody, Cheryl Ellis, Encompass Home Health and Hospice and Augusta University Health for their kindness and compassion.
Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Road., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com