Catherine "Kay" Kirk

Catherine "Kay" Kirk, 83, of Machesney Park, Illinois, passed away April 2, 2025 in her home. Kay was born January 22, 1942, to Francis Gilligan and Jennie Morgan Gilligan. Kay was married to Ned Kirk, Jr., for 63 years until he passed on February 11, 2022. Survived by her three children, Tammy Bolling, Ned (Delores) Kirk, III, and Teresa (Eric) Nelson; grandchildren, Evan Bolling, Ned IV, Nicole and Justin Kirk, Brandon and Brice Nelson and ten great-grandchildren. Kay was the last of ten siblings, Frank, Virginia, Dixie, Ed, Helen, Ernie Boy, Caroline, Paul and Mary.

Our mom, Kay, was the sweetest, coolest, hippest, easy going person. She never met a stranger, just a new friend. Her heart was open to everyone. She took on anything we wanted to do; Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownies and Girl Scouts; listened to countless hours of us three learning to play our instruments for band class. To helping a family of four when their mom left them. Friends from the neighborhood still stopped by to tell her that she was more of a mom than their own moms. There were always cookies in the cookie jar until ten years ago, Ned said the squirrels were getting to fat and she had to cut back on cookie baking. She was a homemaker and then cleaned new construction homes in Belvidere to keep busy.

Kay was a perfect companion for Ned, they did everything together. From digging up the whole backyard into a garden to taking us camping every year, hiking in the rough woods of Northern Wisconsin. She could sit for hours with him in the fishing boat. She took on some animals for us, from dad bringing home raccoons for pets and for us our hamsters, guinea pigs, snakes, gerbils, birds, dogs and a cat to the turtle that she still has after 30 years. She loved to garden from spring to fall. Last year, she finally put most of her flowers in pots to save her knees. She liked to ride out to Rock Cut State Park, every week, no matter the weather, roll down the windows by the pine trees after a good rain, and we would take in the good smells of the pines. We would take lots of pictures of the ice on everything that glistened.

Kay "Mom" was a tough lady, from giving birth at home with one of her children and not taking the numbing shot to sew her back up at the hospital. "OUCH!!!" To getting a couple of fish hooks in fingers, the head, the ear. The day dad went into stop drinking, my mom quit also. She said we started together, we will quit together. Anything to support her husband.

She was a fighter, 2 different kinds of cancer in both lungs, and spreading to her colon. The whole left side of her heart clogged, the top left and bottom of the right side of her heart clogged. Broke left hip, got up and kept moving, 13 days later she broke her right hip and still got up with a walker, saying "I have things to do and flowers to plant."

ONE TOUGH LADY, OUR MOM.

A memorial gathering will be held from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., at Sunset Funeral Home, 8800 N. Alpine Rd, Machesney Park, Illinois 61115. A celebration of life will continue in the Rock Cut Room at Sunset Funeral Home .