Sally "Madeline" Kirkup (nee: Shaheen), born March 5,1929, went to be with the Lord in Heaven on November 9, 2019, surrounded by her family. Beloved wife of the late Robert M. Kirkup. Proud mother of Susan (Michael) Birdsall, Daniel Kirkup, Norma (Michael) LaFever, Diane (Blaine) Vernal and Michael Kirkup. Loving grandmother -"Sito" of Wade LaFever, Kate Birdsall, Derrick Kirkup and Ben Birdsall. Dear sister of Josephine Samaha, Nicholas Shaheen, Victor Shaheen and the late Adele Hamway, Joseph Shaheen, Nussary Shaheen and Julia Trabulsy. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Madeline was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan in a large Lebanese family.
She loved being around people and keeping herself busy. She worked hard her entire life. She started working as a teenager at Sanders in Detroit with her sister, Julia. After retiring from Wonderland Lanes, she continued to work part-time until she was 90!
When Madeline was younger, she loved to bowl. She joined the Senior Ladies House League and was an excellent bowler. Madeline also loved playing cards. She would play euchre and black jack with family and friends when they all got together.
Family meant everything to her and she loved going to Las Vegas, Florida and Canada to visit her relatives.
Around the holidays Madeline was in the kitchen making her famous Lebanese food, like stuffed grape leaves or Lebanese pastries, and she has passed down these recipes to her family.
Madeline gave from the heart and worked for charities like the March of Dimes and Hockey Has Heart. She was an active member of St Valentine's Catholic Church and also attended St John Bosco.
Madeline was a kind person who thought about others before thinking of herself and this was one of her greatest gifts. Another of her gifts was her sense of humor. If she started laughing, everyone around her would join in because she couldn't stop.
While dating Bob, Madeline was introduced to hockey and became a big Red Wings fan. She even got to drink champagne from the Stanley Cup. She spent many hours watching her sons and grandchildren play sports. Most of all she enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, having fun and teaching them the value of family. Madeline will be deeply missed by her family and by everyone that she knew and who knew her.
Visitation will be held at Harry J Will Funeral Home in Livonia on Thursday November 21st from 2-8:30pm with a 7:30pm rosary. A funeral service will also be held at the funeral home on Friday November 22nd at 11:00am (in state at 9:00am). In lieu of flowers donations can be made to St Jude Children's Hospital or C. S. Mott Children's Hospital at the U of M in Madeline's honor. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at the online guestbook for the Kirkup family.
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