Estelle Kirk Obituary
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Estelle Kirk (Brentwood, Maryland), who passed away on July 1, 2019, at the age of 92, leaving to mourn family and friends.
Mrs. G. Estelle Kirk, beloved mother and grandmother born on April 25, 1927 in Dott, West Virginia, passed away at age 92 on July 1, 2019 in Riverdale, Maryland, the daughter of the late Luther B. Harrison and Gladys E. (nee Watkins) Harrison Burgess and W. Cecil Burgess. Born in Dott, WV and raised in Mercer County, WV, Estelle made her home in Lanham, MD for more than 50 years. At the time of her passing Estelle was a resident of Crescent Cities Center in Riverdale, MD.
Estelle was a homemaker, avid gardener, seamstress and handcrafter throughout her life. She was very good at playing marbles in middle school in the schoolyard and thought it fun to win many marbles from the boys. Her brothers and the other boys didn’t though! She thought it fun to humorously recount the day the boys discovered the girls’ secret swimming hole and got there before the girls. The girls gleefully hid the boys clothing! Estelle enjoyed making memory books for her grandchildren. She was a 'cafeteria lady' at Thomas Johnson Middle School in the late 60's to early 70's and had many fond memories of the students. She was the Cafeteria Manager at Riverdale Baptist School in its early inception in the early to mid-1970's. She went on to manage the New Carrollton Contract U.S. Post Office from 1975 until she retired in 1991. She was a Girl Scout Leader in the mid 1960's until 1970 that met in James McHenry Elementary School, Lanham, MD. She was an active member with her church, Riverdale Baptist Church formerly located in Riverdale, MD and after the church moved to Largo, MD from 1963 up until May 2017. She was a fulltime church volunteer in the Infant Nursery for many years and at one time it's Director. She had many happy memories and stories of her babies whom she proudly watched grow into adulthood becoming parents themselves. She was a Sunday School teacher and a youth AWANA Leader at church. She enjoyed writing letters to pen pal friends that she’d made over the years and to friends who were housebound or moved out of state. Estelle was 'nana', 'mom-mom', 'maw' and 'granny' to many and to several of the neighborhood children. She loved to be outdoors working in her yard, planting and tending to her gardens, raking leaves in the fall and even shoveling winter snows. She was an avid gardener and would often share iris tubers with new neighbors. She was often seen most mornings no matter the season sitting in a rocking chair on her front porch, having coffee, feeding the birds who nested nearby and reading from her Bible or sitting under the gazebo in her backyard. She also loved to sew and quilt. She made many of her children's clothing and costumes when they were young. It was not unusual for her to buy material and create dresses the same day for her younger daughters when they were teenagers. There are many decorative quilted pillows in the homes of family, friends and acquaintances. She loved to cook and bake for her family, neighborhood friends and church. She was still baking the birthday cakes for her Sunday School class and many class events up until 2017. She remained youthful and fun throughout her life. She had an exceptional memory and would entertain her children and grandchildren to jingles from the 40's and 50's. One of her son's high school friends 'Boo-Boo' would often come home with him after school wanting her to play Chubby Checkers’ the Twist on the record player and dance the Twist that she taught them during the twist craze. She and one of her granddaughters Jessica would often take pictures of themselves trying on Sunday ladies' hats and party hats when they shopped. She loved all holidays celebrating our country, veterans and servicemen and women. She was a very proud American and always made a flag 4th of July cake. Her children and grandchildren were the center of her life. She made many sacrifices for them and loved them all. Estelle was married to the late Bernard A. Thomas Sr., that marriage ending in divorce.
She is predeceased by her husband Robert B. Kirk and son Bernard A. ('Sonny') Thomas, Jr. and son-in-law Daniel J. Blankenship Sr. She is predeceased by her brothers, Clarence R. Harrison, Luther B. Harrison Jr., Paul Harrison and sisters Catherine Harrison Leach and Margie Harrison Wimmer. Estelle is survived by her daughters, Bernardine C. (nee Thomas) Blankenship Shampo of Princeton, WV, Sharon E. (nee Thomas) Browne of Florida, Deborah L. (nee Thomas) Igal (Sam) of CO and WV and Paula J. (nee Kirk) Sowers (Gary) of MD. She is also survived by grandchildren, D. Jack Blankenship of SC, Michael W. Blankenship (Cindy) of VA, D. Kevin Blankenship (Darla) of WV, James R. Shampo (Karen) of NC, Stacey E. Shampo of WV, Lisa M. (nee Browne) Powell of SC, S. Renee (nee Browne) Grempel (Todd) of CA, John R. Browne of MD, B. Allen Thomas III of WV, Joshua A. Sowers, Jessica L. (nee Sowers) Judd (Charles), Jacob R. Sowers (Lynn), Jeremiah D. Sowers and Sarah E. Sowers, all of MD, Alric Igal (Ana) of VA and Lissa Igal Castilleja (Rolando) of TX. She is survived by 25 great grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren and many nephews and nieces. She is survived by two devoted, loyal & loving friends from her church John Anderson & Maxine Lily. She is also survived by many furry and feathered grandchildren. Per Estelle's wishes there were no services or memorials. Private interment took place at Fort Lincoln Cemetery, Brentwood, MD on July 8, 2019.
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