Marion Anne Kirkpatrick

Mary Anne Kirkpatrick, decorative painter and long-time resident of Allegany

ALLEGANY — Marion "Mary Anne" Jeannette Fitzgerald Kirkpatrick passed away peacefully in her home, with her family, on Sunday (May 7, 2023). 

Mrs. Kirkpatrick was born in Arlington, Va., on May 10, 1925. 

As a child, she met and had tea with first lady Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House, and in her later years, she met then-President George and Barbara Bush in the same room. She graduated from Washington and Lee High School in Arlington and worked for several years as an administrative assistant in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC.

As was true of her beloved husband, Mary Anne was an active member of the Olean First Baptist Church and church community beginning in 1947. In the church, she taught classes, led various fundraisers for the community and was actively involved in organizing dozens, if not hundreds, of church functions. 

She applied her painting talents in the church by painting the children's nursery room walls and funded the stained-glass window in the northern wall of the present-day church sanctuary. 

After Jim's retirement, Jim and Mary Anne wintered at Jekyll Island, Ga., from 1987 through 2014, where she was also an active member of the Jekyll Island Chapel.

She was a member of the Village of Allegany Zoning Board of Appeals for over 20 years and was also an election official for 15 years.

While she was indeed known in many circles as "Jim Kirkpatrick's wife," she was best known as an accomplished painter, decorative artist and painting instructor. Always generous with her time and talents, her students enjoyed the hours spent with her in her "studio," learning the finer points of how to apply paints and use other artists' tools to create their own masterpieces.

More than all else, Mary Anne loved spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She enjoyed gardening, entertaining her many friends in her Allegany home and the Jekyll Island community.

A large family of dedicated caregivers allowed Mary Anne to remain home and enjoy her family and church community until her final hours. They were a gift not only to Mary Anne but to her family. Thank you to all the dedicated care providers, health specialists, in-home therapists, landscapers and the many other friends who cared for her, stopped and visited to make her time over the past few years enjoyable and full.

Mary Anne is survived by her eldest son, G. Douglas Kirkpatrick of Portland, Ore., married to Heidi Lambert Kirkpatrick; and her youngest son, Gerry Kirkpatrick of Crozet, Va., married to Ann Marie La Bruno Gathright. Mary Anne is also survived by three grandchildren, Colleen Leonard Wood-Smith of Greenwich, Conn., Ryan Kirkpatrick of East Aurora and C. Fiona Kirkpatrick of Larkspur, Calif.; and seven great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her husband and best friend of 77 years, James W. Kirkpatrick; and her only daughter, Ruth Ann Kirkpatrick, who passed away in March 2022.

Friends will be received from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday (May 10, 2023) at First Baptist Church of Olean, at which time funeral services will be held, co-officiated by the Rev. William Tatum, interim pastor, and Rev. David Torrey. A family-only private burial will follow in the Allegany Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers or other memorial tributes, the family asks that donations in honor and memory of Mary Anne be sent to the First Baptist Church of Olean, 133 S. Union St., Olean, NY 14760.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Letro-McIntosh-Spink Funeral Home, Inc., 646 E. State St., Olean. 

Online condolences may be made at www.letromcintoshspinkfuneralhome.com.