Janet Marie Kirby's Obituary
Janet (Jan) Kirby of Memphis, Tennessee, passed away on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, at the age of 77. She was born May 2, 1942 in Otsego Township, Wisconsin, to Merritt and Adeline Taylor. She is survived by her husband, Mike Kirby, brother Roger Taylor (Elsie), brother-in-law Bob Kirby (Mary), her son Tom Kirby, (Betsy); her daughter Chris Floyd (Brian), grandchildren Jordan Kirby and Maddie Floyd, and niece and nephews Jody Titus (Dan), Craig Taylor (Paula), Jeff Taylor (Tasha), Tim Kirby (Gaylene), and Jeff Kirby (Geraldine). She loved her Shetland Sheepdog, Frosty, and was a fan of the Green Bay Packers and Memphis Grizzlies.
It was her friendliness and great smile that helped her connect with people in the community through friends and family, V&E Greenline, being a docent at the Memphis Zoo, Garden Club, VECA Community Garden, Italianfest, and her neighborhood. During summers, she was able to make month long trips back to her Wisconsin roots to connect with both family and friends from her college days as well as camp and bike on the many trails.
She loved her grandchildren and they adored her. Jordan’s and Maddie’s favorite activities with Grandma Jan were creating a variety of arts and crafts, sewing, playing cards, camping, biking, walking along the Mississippi River, feeding the fish at Botanical Gardens and going to the zoo to watch and learn more about all of the animals. Jordan, fourteen years old, and Maddie, eight years old, were blessed to spent most of their Sunday afternoons with Mike and Jan since each was born.
Jan grew up on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin. She attended a one-room elementary school, Kings Corners, near the family home. She graduated from Fall River High School and then Wisconsin State University at Stevens Point with a major in Home Economics. She taught for three years at Two Rivers Wisconsin and Elgin Illinois. She moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1970 and was a long-time resident in the Vollintine Evergreen neighborhood. She received training in computer programming and worked for many years at the Rhodes College Information Service Department in programming and managed the student computer lab. She was a long-time volunteer for VECA, the neighborhood association, and was one of the original founders and board members of the V&E Greenline trail. She received the Margaret Dichtel Award in 2007 for her volunteerism on the V&E Greenline where she raked, trimmed, planted, weeded, fundraised through a block-long yard sale, had a neighborhood ice cream social, and organized the artists for the annual Artwalk Festival.
Jan was a Zoo docent for many years and was passionate about the animals and teaching facts about them. Her favorite exhibit was Once Upon a Farm, which reminded her of her childhood. She loved the excitement that children, and often adults, had when she shared information with them and Jan always wanted to take more classes to know more about the animals herself. She has passed this love and knowledge of animals on to both grandchildren.
She was also a core volunteer at the VECA Lyndale Community Garden and raised a variety of vegetables and spices. Although she enjoyed the lettuces, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and okra, basil was her favorite because she made her popular pesto from it. She was also dedicated in removing weeds. She was a fabulous cook and brought with her many of her family's favorite Wisconsin recipes. Our favorites included her pesto, Grandma’s barbecue, baked beans, chili soup, tiger bars, Mexican wedding cakes, and cheesy potatoes. She was great at contributing to, throwing, and organizing parties whether they were for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, a Packer party for a Super Bowl game, a garden party, ravioli making at Christmas, or docent events at the zoo.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations sent to the V&E Greenline at https://www.vegreenline.org/ (please note that it is in honor of Jan Kirby) or a check made out to the Memphis Zoo, making a note at the bottom of the check that it is in memory of Jan Kirby for the Docent Program.
The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Friday, January 10th and from 12 p.m. until her service begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, January 11th at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 38119 (901)767-8930 "A Fitting Farewell for Everyone".
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