Based in Sydney, Australia, Foundry is a blog by Rebecca Thao. Her posts explore modern architecture through photos and quotes by influential architects, engineers, and artists.

Shirley Lloyd Fulbright Kirby

Shirley Lloyd Fulbright Kirby

7-17 obit Shirley Kirby.jpg

Shirley Lloyd Fulbright Kirby, a longtime resident of Swarthmore and most recently a resident of Roswell, Georgia, passed away peacefully on June 21. She was 93.

Shirley was born to the late Wilbur and Irma Fulbright in St. Louis in 1927. She was the eldest of three girls: sister to Judith (Fulbright) Till of Webster Groves, Missouri, and the late Marion (Fulbright) Thomas of Manchester, Connecticut. She received a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1948.

She met her husband, the late Aubrey M. Kirby Jr., at the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis, where they married in 1952. They enjoyed over 53 years together before his passing in 2005. Shirley and Aubrey lived in St. Louis, Niagara Falls, and West Chester, Pennsylvania, before eventually moving to Swarthmore in 1965, where they resided for over 40 years. 

Shirley was active in the Swarthmore community for many years, volunteering for and attending countless events and maintaining close friendships with her neighbors. She worked for many years in the McCabe Library at Swarthmore College. She maintained a lifelong connection with her Unitarian faith, and was a member of the Unitarian Universalist churches in both Wilmington, Delaware, and Delaware County.

She loved books, music, baseball (she was a lifelong Cardinals fan), and humor — especially her husband’s wry wit (Happy Army Day!). With her warm, kind-hearted, and caring manner, she made friends easily wherever she lived. A devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many, she was loved dearly by her family, and will be greatly missed.

She leaves a daughter, Karen Tennant (Bradley), and four sons: Steven Kirby (Karen), Douglas Kirby (Britta), Kenneth Kirby, and Mark Kirby (Lisa). Shirley was also the grandmother of Faye Hirsch and of Wyatt, Travis, Ilsa, and Ava Kirby, and the great-grandmother of Forest and Fox Hirsch.

Barbara L. Calkins

Barbara L. Calkins

Mary Ann Jeavons

Mary Ann Jeavons