Shirley Kibbe

Agawam - Surrounded by the family that loved her so much, in her home filled with beautiful memories, Shirley Ann Kibbe ascended to heaven on March 12th where she was reunited with the love of her life, Stu. Shirley was born on Valentine’s Day 1936 to Henry “Ted” and Mary (Rugani) Carr (Caracciolo) in Springfield Mass. Her father named her after Shirley Temple, a child star at the time. Throughout her life, she was a big fan of Shirley Temple movies and the music of her movies. She was a proud graduate of Classical High School, class of 1953. A few months after High School graduation, she married Stuart Kibbe Jr. and they began a 64 year marriage together full of so much happiness and fun. They settled in Agawam where they raised their family. Shirley will be forever missed by her devoted children, Linda Ross (Gary) of Unity, NH, Laura Moran (Mike) of Feeding Hills, Lisa Patnode (Jim) of East Longmeadow, Looloo Kibbe (Gary Dawson) of Agawam, and Stuart Kibbe 3rd (Diane) of Southwick. Shirley was a stay at home mom until her children were in school when she began a successful sales career selling Avon Products door to door in North Agawam. In 1980 she began her long career in Real Estate selling many homes in the Agawam area. If you started your relationship with Shirley as a customer-you ended up as a friend. She won numerous awards selling real estate, often earning top sales honors for her achievements. As much as she enjoyed her sales success - her first and favorite job was as a wife to her husband, Big Stu and mother to her “L” girls and her son, Stuey. She was an incredibly devoted mother to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren- always putting them first, always setting a good example and always making them feel special. Her favorite times were when she was celebrating a Holiday, Birthday or Anniversary surrounded by her family. She enjoyed singing along with her grandchildren at family events. She will be deeply missed by her grandchildren, Alison Gouvin (Brian), Brian, Kevin, Ryan and Stephen Daley, Erin Francis, Zachary and Eric Patnode, Luke and Madison Kibbe; and her great grandchildren, Vivian and Wyatt Gouvin, and Auryn Daley. Shirley was a political activist long before most women stepped in that arena. She was a regular attendee at Town Council meetings especially when a dog racing track was proposed for the former Bowles Airport in Agawam. She and a small group of other concerned citizens successfully fought to keep the racetrack out of Agawam- today, the Agawam Airport Industrial Park sits on that site. She was small in size but a force to be reckoned with when she believed in something. Shirley’s love for the Rhode Island shore began as a teenager taking the bus from Springfield to Misquamicut Beach. She and Stu loved their Rhode Island get-away’s first at their camp at Holly Tree and in later years their home in Westerly. They spent many days at Quonochontaug Pond- fishing, clamming, swimming , lounging on the beach and puttering around in their little green boat. Shirley was pre-deceased by her husband of 64 years Stuart A. Kibbe, Jr who passed away on Oct, 11 2017. She also leaves her brothers, Daniel Carr (Tanya) of Westerly, RI and Donald Carr (Barbara) of Springfield; sister-in-laws, Virginia Hazard of Delmar, NY, Nancy Wessale of Sacramento, CA, and Virginia Kibbe of Southwick, MA; and nieces and nephews who fondly recall the fun times with Uncle Stuey and Aunt Shirley and all their cousins. Shirley was a longtime member of the Agawam Congregational Church where she was active in Christian Education. Her family would like to thank her care givers Eileen Sheehan and James Gordon as well as the staff at Mercy Life Pace Program who treated Shirley with much love and compassion. MOM, Thank you for being the BEST mother- We will miss you FOREVER. We know you are in Heaven with Dad listening to Frank Sinatra croon “Fly me to the Moon”. Family and friends are invited to attend visiting hours on Friday, March 16th from 3-7PM at Colonial Forastiere Funeral Home, 985 Main St., Agawam. A funeral home service will be held on Saturday, March 17th at 9:30AM followed by burial in Agawam Center Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Dakin Humane Society, 171 Union Street, Springfield, MA 01105. For more information please visit: www.forastiere.com.