Mary Kaebnick Kirkland

Mary Kaebnick Kirkland died peacefully on August 31, 2026, surrounded by family, following a serious illness. She was born on March 16, 1945 to Clarence and Lois Kaebnick in Erie, Pennsylvania. She later moved to Louisville, KY where she spent most of her childhood, participated in Girl Scouts, and attended Wagner High School. She relocated to LaGrange, Illinois before her senior year and graduated from Lyons Township High School in 1963. Mary attended Emory University where she majored in French, made some of her lifelong friends, and pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma. It was there that she met and later married the love of her life, John Smith Kirkland. She graduated from Emory in 1967 and proceeded to teach elementary French at the High Point and Guy Webb schools while John completed his M.D. at Emory. In 1971, she moved with John to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he began his residency. Over the next seven years, they lived primarily in Ann Arbor, with two years spent in Dayton, Ohio, while John served as a flight surgeon at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In 1978, she moved with John and their three children to Rome, GA where he began his vascular surgery practice.

Mary had a servant’s heart, volunteering with multiple organizations throughout her life in Rome. She served as Auction Chair and President of the Darlington School Parents Association, President of the Rome Medical Auxiliary, Board Member of the Rebecca Blaylock Child Development Center, Board Member of The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, and an interviewer and volunteer scheduler at Good Neighbor Ministries. She also held multiple volunteer roles at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, including Vacation Bible School Teacher, Chair of the Greeters, Search Committee Member, Member of the Vestry, and Chair of the Altar Guild, a role in which she organized the volunteer schedule and washed and ironed all of the church linens for many years. After learning calligraphy for her daughter’s wedding invitations, she served as Lead Calligrapher for the church, producing beautiful Baptism and Confirmation certificates for countless church members. Additionally, she served as Co-Founder of the Rome Symphony Orchestra Debutante Ball, now in its 36th year.

Mary had a passion for travel and organized multiple road trips for her family to Maine and back, as well as a three-week cross-country trip from Rome to the West Coast and back, minus air conditioning in the August heat for the final leg. She and John also enjoyed extensive international travel over the years, visiting Europe multiple times as well as the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

Mary was the consummate hostess and family matriarch, graciously opening her home to family, friends, and members of her community. She hosted countless bridal and baby showers, graduation parties, Darlington reunions, boarding student visits, youth group pool parties, and the most magical family holiday gatherings. She even hosted a few memorable late-night parties of which she was unaware, and she provided delectable desserts for a certain unnamed celebrity actor when he was in Rome filming The Mosquito Coast.

When she wasn’t entertaining, she was actively supporting her husband’s career and her children’s (and later grandchildren’s) athletic and artistic endeavors. She was an incredibly devoted mother and grandmother who was known to drive hours to cheer and applaud from the stands of auditoriums, basketball courts, soccer fields, cross-country races, and natatoriums.

Mary loved her friends fiercely, and they returned that love in equal measure. She tended her friendships with extraordinary care, nurturing them across decades and through every season of her life. From childhood and college to the medical school years, time in Ann Arbor and Dayton, and throughout her years in Rome, she maintained a remarkable network of friendships that endured. She was often the glue that bound her circles of friends together, helping preserve the camaraderie, connection, and support that she and John shared with so many people over their 58-year marriage.

Finally, Mary adored her many canine family members; Hansel (dachshund); Gretel (dachshund); Goldie (golden retriever); Shemy (black lab); Tiberio (black lab); Elle (dalmatian); Sydney (dalmatian); Lynard (beagle); Walker (beagle); Molly (dalmatian); Emmy (Australian labradoodle).

Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Eula White Kirkland and John Smith Kirkland, Sr.; her aunt and uncle, Sue Cowan Sturgis and Dr. Horace W. Sturgis; and her brother-in-law, David Norman Kirkland.

She is survived by her husband, John; her children, Mary Kelly Cunningham of Atlanta, GA, John William Kirkland of Hiawassee, GA, and James David Kirkland (Errett) of Atlanta, GA; her grandchildren, Jacqueline Marie Cunningham, Mary Katherine “Kate” Cunningham, Sara Neil Kirkland, Mary Elizabeth Kirkland, Tru William Schlitz, and Nina Rose Schlitz Kirkland; her brother, James Kaebnick; her niece and nephew, Tara Kirkland Inman (Brian) of Rome, GA, and David McClary “Clay” Kirkland (Becky) of Titusville, PA; her six great-nieces and great-nephews.

The family would like to thank Dr. Ritu Khurana and Dr. Poonam Singh, as well as the physicians and staff at Advent Health Redmond, Atrium Health Floyd, and The Harbin Clinic for their compassionate, kind, and exceptionally skillful care during her last two years.

A funeral service will be held at 11am on Tuesday, September 8th at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 101 E. Fourth Ave., Rome, GA 30161. A reception will follow the service in Daniel Hall.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Good Neighbor Ministries. You can donate via the http://stpetersrome.org/giving/stewardship/ page, indicating in the message line that your donation is in memory of Mary Kirkland. These donations will then be directed to Good Neighbor Ministries. Or you may mail a check directly to Good Neighbor Ministries at 208 E. Second St., Rome, GA 30161 and indicate in the memo line that the donation is in memory of Mary Kirkland.

The service will be livestreamed from the St. Peter's Episcopal Church Youtube channel. www.youtube.com/@StPetersRomeGA1844