Marian M. Kirby

FAYETTEVILLE - Mrs. Marian McMillan Kirby died Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009, in Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. She was 88. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. today, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009, in Highland Presbyterian Church, with Dr. J. Ernest Johnson officiating. The burial will follow at Cypress Presbyterian Church cemetery in Moore County. Visitation was Saturday evening at Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home in Fayetteville. Mrs. Kirby was a Vass native who worked 35 years as a dental hygienist on Fort Bragg, retiring in 1982. She was a member of Highland Presbyterian Church from 1962 until 2009 and a member of the Cross Creek Briarwood Garden Club. She played a role in re-establishing the Blue Star Memorial at Freedom Memorial Park. She was recipient of a pin to the City of Fayetteville from Mayor Tony Chavonne in 2007. Mrs. Kirby was known throughout the city for her sweet demeanor and kind and gentle ways, earning the friendship of young and old throughout this community. Mrs. Kirby was the daughter of John McMillan and Annie McNeill McMillan of Vass; and the sister of the late Mary Frank Parker of Fayetteville and the late Worth Bagley McMillan of Vass. Mrs. Kirby is survived by a son, William B. Kirby Jr. of Fayetteville, and a sister, Vivian Blackburn of Lobelia. Survivors also include nephew, Julian E. Parker III of Charleston, S.C.; niece, Mary Worth McEachern of Manteo; niece, Teresa Cummings of Carthage; niece, Vickie Medlin of Cameron; niece, Ann Blatty of Southern Pines; niece, Charlotte Black of Whispering Pines; nephew, Billy Blackburn of Lobelia; and second nieces, Sandra Stephens of Lobelia and Sara Dykstra of Sacramento, Calif. Memorials may be made to the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society, 3927 Bragg Blvd., Fayetteville, NC 28303