Obituary of Marcia R. Kirkpatrick

Marcia R. Kirkpatrick World War II and Korean War Veteran, Social Worker, Historian, Gardener, Masters Swimmer, Friend to Many Marcia Kirkpatrick, 92, a long-time resident of Jamesburg and Monroe, died Wednesday, July 11, 2012 at The Cranbury Care Center in Monroe Township. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on August 6, 1919, Mrs. Kirkpatrick lived most of her adult life in Jamesburg before moving to nearby Rossmoor in Monroe in 2000, and then to Brandywine Princeton Senior Living (South Brunswick) in August of 2011. A graduate of University High School in Lexington, Kentucky, she attended Stephens College in Springfield, Missouri, and then transferred to the University of Kentucky, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. Her first job upon graduation was to serve as the sole social worker for Kentucky's largest mental hospital, housing 3, 500 patients. There, she recognized the then largely unexplored value of music on the mentally ill; she purchased a phonograph, played classical music regularly in the facility's dining hall and later wrote a paper on the profound effects of music on these patients. At the end of that first year, the bombing of Pearl Harbor spurred her patriotic duty and by October of 1942 she followed brothers Dave and Chuck into the service. She joined the WAACs (Women's Army Air Corps), serving as a recruiting officer and later as a Captain commanding a squadron, eventually leaving the Air Force Reserves in 1957. While a Commanding Officer stationed at Stockton Air Force Base in California just after the war ended in 1946, she was introduced to an Air Transport Command pilot, Malcolm Kirkpatrick, who was also a percussionist in the Base Band. Not scared off by his nickname ("Merciless Malcolm, Scourge of the Skies"), she married him later that year in Jamesburg, New Jersey, the town that Malcolm grew up in and a place they treasured and served faithfully. Malcolm was Jamesburg's Mayor from 1955-64 and retired as a Colonel from the Air Force Reserves in 1974. She returned to her first love in 1967, joining the State Home for Boys in Jamesburg (now The Training School for Boys) as a psychiatric social worker. In the late seventies, she joined the Child Study team in the Jamesburg public school system and later served as a social worker at Monroe Village, a continuing care facility. While a staunch and unapologetically liberal Democrat her whole life, she grew disenchanted with the actions of the town's Democratic elected officials in the late seventies and ran successfully on the new Coalition Party ticket in Jamesburg, serving as a councilperson for four years. At roughly the same time, she and a small group of concerned town leaders that included her husband founded the Jamesburg Historic Association, spending many hours working with a group of citizen volunteers who restored and continue to restore the town's circa 1693 Lakeview House. In the nineties, Mrs. Kirkpatrick acted on a long-time desire to both get in better shape and test herself against other "mature" swimmers, participating and medaling in a number of Masters swimming competitions, including the National Senior Olympics, where she was the 10th fastest backstroker in the country in the 75+ division. Mrs. Kirkpatrick was a long-time member of the American Legion Star Post 127 in Jamesburg, serving in several different capacities, including Adjutant (2nd in command) and Service Officer, which allowed her help other veterans by providing information on services available to veterans. An avid gardener, Mrs. Kirkpatrick hosted many unofficial tours of her beautiful gardens bounded by the woods on the back of their Forsgate Drive property. An early proponent of herbs, she gave talks to groups about their culinary and health benefits—she was known to freely share and introduce many of her homegrown herbs to her many friends. After selling the house they built, lived and raised a family in for 44 years, she and Malcolm moved to the Rossmoor retirement community, where she continued to swim regularly, and nurtured much smaller but no less beautiful gardens. She also resumed her love of the greater Jamesburg-Monroe area's rich history, becoming an active leader in the Monroe Township Historic Preservation Commission. Mrs. Kirkpatrick enjoyed being a part of the Rossmoor Women's Guild, as well as the Rossmoor Community Church. Mrs. Kirkpatrick adored spending time with her children and grandchildren, whether teaching them how to swim in the small backyard pool in Jamesburg,, hosting family barbecues or attending musical events together, to name a few favorite things. Mrs. Kirkpatrick was predeceased by Malcolm, her husband of 59 years who passed away in 2006. She is survived by her children John (Rosemary) of Chapel Hill, N.C, Randall (Lynne) of Kendall Park, NJ and Susan Kirkpatrick of Kendall Park. She is also survived by grandchildren Sarah, Jack, Sam, Kyle and Alex. A memorial service celebrating Marcia's rich, wide-ranging life will be held at Rossmoor Community Church in Monroe Township on Saturday, July 28, 2012 at 2 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the CASA for Children of Mercer and Burlington Counties (Court Appointed Special Advocates), 1450 Parkside Ave. Suite 22, Ewing, NJ 08638.