Alice Louise Kirkman

Alice Louise Kirkman died peacefully on November 9, 2025 in Chapel Hill, NC of advanced Parkinson’s Disease, with her daughter and three siblings by her side. Alice was born on February 3, 1952 in Baltimore, Maryland, the first-born child of H. Neil and Margaret Yancey Kirkman. Her family moved over the next few years to Greenville S.C., Nashville TN, and Wheaton MD, adding three younger siblings to the mix, and then to Oklahoma City OK, where Alice spent her elementary school years. The family moved to Chapel Hill, NC in 1965. Alice graduated from Chapel Hill High School and earned a B.A. in History from Duke University. (Her choice to go to the darker shade of blue flummoxed her UNC Tarheel family, but she always kept her allegiances secret.) She spent her junior year abroad studying at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Alice earned a law degree from Boston College and went to work for the federal government in the Community Services Administration. When the agency was abolished during the Reagan years, she shifted her focus to advocacy and communications. She worked for a number of non-profits in the Washington DC area, including the American Medical Women’s Association, the American College of Ob-Gyns, and BrightFocus. Alice lived her entire adult life in the DC area, other than a brief detour to San Francisco during her younger years (we think there may have been a man involved…), where she passed the difficult California Bar exam and worked for about a year.

When she was in her 40’s, Alice fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a parent by adopting her daughter, Victoria Margaret Kirkman, from Latvia. She was a wonderful mother, a fierce advocate for Victoria’s educational needs, and rightfully proud of her daughter’s growth into the wonderful young woman she is today.

Alice was a courageous woman. After her federal job was eliminated, she took a weeks-long solo car/camping trip across the US and back. Despite a fear of flying as a teen-ager, she later took gliding lessons and got her glider pilot’s license (we think there was a man involved there, too…). She actively sought out international adoption and single parenthood and excelled at it. Finally, she faced her Parkinson’s diagnosis bravely and grew to accept the help that friends and family offered.

Alice loved her family, Chapel Hill, annual trips to the beach with sister Celia, daughter Victoria, and later son-in-law Walter; and meeting up with her DC-area and Chapel Hill friends. Alice had dozens and dozens of friends with whom she maintained virtual or in-person friendships for many decades (including several from Longfellow Elementary School in Oklahoma, whom she knew for 65 years).

Alice is survived by her daughter Victoria Kirkman and son-in-law Walter Matthews of Rockville, Maryland; siblings Celia Kirkman and David Kirkman (Debra Skinner) of Chapel Hill and Sue/Suzy Kirkman (John Krall) of Pittsboro, NC; nephews Evan Krall (Teresa Tenfelter) of San Francisco and Jacob (Jennifer) Krall and their children Jackson and Jenevieve of Winston-Salem, NC; her beloved Carroll cousins (Phil, Peggy, and John) in Georgia; and many friends who adored her and sent messages/called/visited during her final months and days.

A celebration of Alice’s life will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 22 at Walker’s Funeral Home in Chapel Hill, with the Rev. Grace Hackney presiding. An informal lunch gathering will follow. In lieu of flowers, Alice would have appreciated donations to the Parkinson’s Foundation (https://www.parkinson.org) or the NOW Foundation (https://now.org/now-foundation).

The family would like to thank Always Best Care home health in Rockville MD (particularly Marie Ntumna), the staff of Parkview Health and Rehabilitation in Chapel Hill, and the team from Liberty Hospice for their kind care.

In memory of Alice: Always strive to love your family, cultivate and maintain good friendships, and make the world a better place.