Susan Kirk

OXFORD - Susan S. (Snyder) Kirk, 56, of Country Lane, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 26, 2013, in her home with her family by her side, after a 20-year battle with breast cancer. She recently celebrated her 56th birthday on June 22nd and her 29th wedding anniversary on June 23rd. She is survived by her husband, John A. Kirk of Oxford; two children, Kaitlyn M. Kirk and her fiancé Christopher J. Smith of Charlton, and Michael J. Kirk of Somerville; her mother, Joan M. (Scharp) Snyder of Hurley, NY; two sisters, Deborah Smiseth of Stone Ridge, NY, and Karen Burch of Oak Hill, FL; two sisters-in-law, Susan Kirk of Aurora, CO, and Linda Davis of Saratoga Springs, NY; and many nephews and nieces. She was born in Kingston, NY, the daughter of the late Robert W. Snyder, and lived in Hurley, NY before moving to Oxford in 1986. She graduated from Kingston High School in 1975, received her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from the State University of New York at Oswego in 1979, and received her master's degree in Program Planning and Evaluation from the State University of New York at Albany in 1982. Mrs. Kirk was a 3rd grade school teacher for seventeen years at A.M. Chaffee School and Clara Barton School in Oxford. Previously, she taught at Venerini Academy in Worcester, St. Tarcisius in Framingham, and St. Mary of Snow in Saugerties, NY. She was a member of St. Roch's Church in Oxford and was a former C.C.D. teacher. She had an incredible passion for teaching, and will be remembered as a dedicated mother to her children. A funeral will be held on Tuesday, July 2, 2013, from Paradis Funeral Home, 357 Main St., Oxford, followed by a Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Roch's Church, 332 Main St., Oxford. Burial will follow at North Cemetery in Oxford. Calling hours are Monday, July 1, 2013, from 5-8 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Susan S. Kirk Future Teacher Scholarship, 4 Maple Road, ATTN: Naida Lepore, Oxford, MA 01540 or The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 60 East 56th Street, 8th floor, New York, NY 10022.