Mabel Sue Kirby ("Sue" to her family and friends), a lifelong resident of Peggy Branch Road, Ingleside, passed away suddenly and peacefully surrounded by family at 63 years of age on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at Princeton Community Hospital. Born April 28, 1956 on Athens Road in Princeton to the late George Myron and Clara Eulalia Brown Kirby, Mabel was a disabled veteran having served her country honorably in the U.S. Army. She was a homemaker with a golden heart, highly skilled in the old fashioned country art of making jellies in addition to canning/preserving homegrown vegetables, fruits, and homemade sauces. She always put her family and friends above herself without ever asking or wanting anything in return. So much so, that she always said, "We all need to help each other and if you can't help someone, you sure don't do anything to cause hurt or harm". Nothing meant more to her than her friends and family, including her pets, especially her cats. She also enjoyed reading, flower gardening, and playing bingo whether it was in the bingo hall or on her computer at home. Mabel was also a survivor, striving to overcome any obstacle put before her, not letting the pain from her disabilities hold her back from all those things she loved doing. In addition to both her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Forest Ray Smith, two brothers U.S. Army SSgt. Joel Carson "Jake" Kirby and Myron Ralph "Munk" Kirby. Also preceding her in death, a special aunt Mable Williby; two special nephews Gibby Shawn Hogan and Kenneth Earl Kirby. Those left to cherish her memory are her children, daughter Shanna Marie Kirby and her life partner Rudolf Boxhoorn of The Netherlands, Europe; stepdaughter Michelle Rae Shepherd of Lexington, KY; two stepsons William Quinton Smith of Mullens, WV; U.S. Army CSM Raymond B. Smith of Los Angeles, CA; three brothers Robert "Bob" Kirby of Beckley, WV and his wife Patricia; Paul Kirby of Middleburg, FL and his wife Nancy; Carlton Thomas "Tom" Kirby of Princeton, WV; three sisters, Carrie Hogan of Merced, CA; Clara Kirby Dixon of Peterstown, WV; and Sandra Kirby of Princeton, WV; special sister-in-law Connie Marshall Kirby of Princeton, WV; a special cousin Beverly Cox and husband Michael of Oakvale, WV; special nieces Haley Hatcher of Princeton, WV; Hanna Hatcher and her fiancé Travis Brown of Ingleside, WV; as well as a whole host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. She will be sorely missed by all whose lives she touched. The family has honored Mabel's request that she be cremated with memorial services to be held at a later date in the spring.
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