Obituary

Betty Jean (Estep) Kirby was born February 25, 1942, in Charleston, West Virginia, to Brent and Louise Estep.

She grew up on Pine Creek Road, Mt. Zion, West Virginia, in a tiny rural home with her parents and sister Janet. Brent was a plumber who stayed in a boarding house close to his work in Charleston during the week, returning home on weekends with a little pay to supplement the food from the family’s garden and livestock. As a special treat, the girls and their mother liked to split a twelve-ounce bottle of Pepsi three ways, and enjoy it along with candy that her father had brought home.

As a teenager, she played piano for services at her home church, Mt. Zion United Methodist, and at other local churches during the week. She was a clarinet player in the Calhoun County High School band, a Black Walnut Festival Princess in 1959, and graduated from Calhoun High School in 1960. She remained dear friends with many of her schoolmates until the end of her life, looking forward to seeing them at reunions year after year.

She attended Capitol City Commercial College in Charleston in 1960-61, where she was Valedictorian of her class, graduating with honors with an associate degree. After graduation, she went to work with Harris Upham Stock Brokerage in Charleston.

While she was attending Capitol City, she happened to run into David Kirby on the streets of Charleston. Dave was an engineer with Factory Mutual at that time (later with Union Carbide, and currently with Baker Risk Engineering). They had grown up a couple of miles from each other on Pine Creek, and they had known each other since Betty was a little girl. Betty recalled thinking of the older Dave as a crazy daredevil on a bicycle, and later, on a motorcycle (which was absolutely true). Dave recalls taking notice of the teenage Betty when he and his mother, Eva, a schoolteacher, stopped by the Estep house to give Betty a small present for making the highest grade in the county on her exams. (A photo of Betty from about this time is shown in the gallery.) After their chance meeting in Charleston, they dated for about a year and were married December 16, 1961. Last year, they celebrated their 62nd anniversary.

After living briefly in Charleston, they moved to Sissonville, then to a suburb of Pittsburgh, and then back to Sissonville in 1968, where they remained ever after. (A photo of Betty in the new house in 1968 is shown in the gallery.) They had two sons, Kris and Greg. While pregnant with her first, Betty made the choice to leave Harris Upham and apply her talents to being a homemaker and stay-at-home mom. She never regretted it, and her family was blessed with a wonderful home life.

Betty and Dave have been members of the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Sissonville since 1968. Betty sang in the choir, served on church committees, and was active in the United Methodist Women. The friends that they have from that church, some of whom they’ve known for over 60 years, they really consider a part of their extended family.

Betty was also active in her community in other ways, from being a Cub Scout den mother to serving on the Kanawha County Curriculum committee during the challenging 1970s. She was also a member of the Ladies Oriental Shrine, associated with Beni Kedem Temple in Charleston.

When her sons were older, Betty returned to work, this time with Welcome Wagon International. She served as a Welcome Wagon hostess for 20 years, welcoming hundreds of new families to our local community with baskets of goods and coupons from local merchants. She was perfect for the job, as she liked nothing better than meeting new people, hearing their stories—which she always found interesting—and giving them gifts. Some of those she visited remained good friends to the end of her life.

One of her lifelong passions was playing tennis at the Tennis Indoor Center and outdoor community courts in Kanawha City. She continued playing two to three times per week well into her 80th year. She appreciated the many close friends she made there over the years, and would feel guilty now that they have to find a permanent “sub.”

Another of her passions was travel. She and David often drove long distances around the country together on his business trips, and they also enjoyed many cruises and adventures in other countries: Hong Kong, Israel, Norway, and many others. Betty traveled a long way from Pine Creek.

Sadly, Betty developed ovarian cancer in her 80th year. She braved a sequence of unpleasant treatments for nearly two years, but complications from the last of them finally overtook her. She spent her last days in the presence of family and friends, under the care of the wonderful nurses and staff at Hubbard Hospice House in Charleston.

Betty is survived by her husband, Dave; sons, Kris and Greg, Kris’ wife Mary and their sons Will and Thomas Kirby, Will’s wife Anna; her beloved elder sister, Janet Davis, and nephews, Bob Bailey and Rodney Davis.

A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on December 8, 2024, at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 6823 Sissonville Drive, Charleston, WV. The service will be followed by a spaghetti lunch at noon, with music provided by the Almost Heaven Dulcimer Club. (Anyone who also wishes to attend the regular Sunday worship, from 10:00 TO 11:00 a.m., will be welcome.)

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Aldersgate United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 13673, Sissonville, WV 25360.

Condolences may be sent to Betty’s family at www.barlowbonsall.com.

Barlow Bonsall Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.