Jane Hutchinson Kiorpes

Jane Hutchinson Kiorpes died peacefully at home on May 12, 2019. She was born and raised in Malden, West Virginia, and graduated from Ohio University. A lifelong Methodist, she married Stephen A. Kiorpes, her husband of nearly 60 years, at his family’s Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Yonkers, NY, traveling the world with him as his job demanded, and raising three children in Hastings on Hudson, NY before moving to Birmingham, Alabama and living in her dream home for the last 30 years. Her hobbies included bowling with the Greek Gals in NY, knitting and crocheting, completing the Sunday NY Times crossword puzzles, doing jigsaw puzzles and Sudoku. She learned Greek cooking from her mother-in-law and enjoyed hosting many large family dinners. She loved animals and went to the zoo in every city she visited. She was a dancer as a young woman and loved musicals – movies as well as Broadway shows. She was a soap opera and game show fan. She was also an avid reader and instilled a lifelong love of books (as well as public library patronage) in her family. She loved children, raising her three (Stephen T. Kiorpes, Karen Kiorpes, and Laurel Kiorpes Parker), doting on their friends, her nieces, nephews and grandchildren as well as the children of her friends and neighbors. She was a day care teacher at Happy Harbor (Hastings on Hudson, NY) and CASA (Asbury Methodist Church, Birmingham) and loved her students and co-workers alike. She was smart, kind, funny, a generous baker and a gracious and loving friend who always made people feel welcome in her home. She couldn’t carry a tune (her words) but loved to sing silly songs to brighten the day. In addition to her husband and three children, she is survived by her brother, Troy H. Hutchinson and his wife Catherine, grandchildren Daniel (Ashley), Robert (Rebekah), and Amy Parker, great-grandchildren Gabriel and Emma, and many beloved nieces and nephews who will miss her dearly. The family would like to express gratitude to all those who made it possible for her to be cared for at home as she wished, including the nurses and caregivers at Amedysis, Southern Care New Beacon Hospice, Visiting Angels and Comfort Keepers. A celebration of life will take place on May 23 at Ridout’s Valley Chapel in Homewood beginning at noon with visitation and reception, and a service at 1. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Birmingham Zoo (https://www.birminghamzoo.com/get-involved/donate/) or Kings Home (https://www.kingshome.com/give)