Born: December 2, 1919, in Saranac Lake
Died: December 3, 2006, in Camden, Maine
Married: Dr. Thomas Rogers Kirk in 1944
Children: Suzanne (Mrs. David Shaub); Allen (wife, Ann Schauber); Carolyn (Mrs. Marty Dutcher)
Rebecca Sampson Kirk was a daughter of Selenia Byrne and Homer Sampson. She grew up in staff housing at Trudeau Sanatorium where her father was a pioneer in x-ray techniques. Becky attended the Baldwin School, graduated from Saranac Lake High School in 1939, and from Rochester University in 1943 with a degree in English. She was predeceased by her sister, Mary E. MacIntyre of Saranac Lake.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, December 15, 2006
Rebecca Sampson Kirk
Rebecca (Becky) Sampson Kirk, 87, formerly of Saranac Lake, died peacefully Dec. 3, 2006 at Quarry Hill in Camden, Maine.
Born Dec. 2, 1919 in Saranac Lake, she was the daughter of Selenia (Byrne) and Homer Lazell Sampson. She grew up in staff housing at Trudeau Sanitorium where her father was a pioneer in x-ray techniques. Becky attended the Baldwin School, graduated from the Saranac Lake High School in 1939 and from Rochester University in 1943 with an English degree.
She married Dr. Thomas Rogers Kirk in 1944. The couple moved to Petosky, Mich., where Dr. Kirk set up his pediatric practice at the Burns Clinic. The couple had three children: Suzanne (Mrs. David Schaub) of Union, Maine, Alan and his wife, Ann Schauber of Corvallis, Ore. and Carolyn (Mrs. Marty Dutcher) of Kensington, Md.
Becky was active in the choirs of the Saranac Lake and Petosky Presbyterian churches, had worked as a model for Eastman Kodak Company and in Petosky volunteered at the AAUW, the Little Traverse Hospital Auxiliary, and the Parent Teacher Association.
A talented artist, Becky took art courses in Rochester and resumed art classes when her children left for college. She displayed and sold her art work and made donations to charitable art auctions.
Following her husband's death, she travelled to visit her children spending summers at her cottage on Walloon Lake near Petosky. In 1996, she settled with Suzanne's family in Lake Bluff, Ill., moving with them to Union, Maine. For the past three years, she resided at the Terraces of Quarry Hill in Camden, Maine where she continued her art work and made many friends with residents and staff.
Becky is survived by her three children; a niece, Barbara Ann Mohajorey of Pittsburgh, Pa.; a nephew, Peter MacIntyre of Myrtle Beach, C.C.; and six grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband and a sister, Mary E. MacIntyre of Saranac Lake. A memorial service was held Saturday, Dec. 9 at the People's United Methodist Church in Union. Internment will take place next summer near the Walloon Cottage in Michigan.
