"Always thoughtful," Florence M. Kirch "never forgot to acknowledge an important date for family and friends. And with her warmth and easy smile, she made lifelong friends wherever she went, which made for a packed calendar," her family wrote.
Mrs. Kirch, who split her time between Amagansett and Islamorada, Fla., died on March 7 in Huntersville, N.C. She was 79 and had been diagnosed with Stage Four lung cancer four years ago.
She was born in Freeport on Oct. 22, 1941, to Kenneth Carman and the former Madeline Schefer. She grew up in Merrick, and met the "love of her life," Matthew Kirch, while still in high school. The two were married on Feb. 23, 1963. The couple lived in Sayville for 30 years, and had two children, Jim, who survives, and Karen, who died before her. Mrs. Kirch was an office manager for a chiropractor.
Known as Flo, she "thoroughly enjoyed living the beach life on Long Island and, during the winter, in the Florida Keys." She liked to go fishing on the Lazy Bones charter boat out of Montauk, and "was renowned for her cooking and baking, especially around the holidays," her family wrote. She was also devoted to them and "loved being Nana to her four grandchildren, Eldridge and Jordan Moore and Andrew and Erin Kirch.
Along with her grandchildren, and her son, who lives in Huntersville, she is survived by her husband, and six siblings, John, Kenneth, William, and George Carman, Betty Maugeri, and Dorothy Podel.
A service was held in Huntersville on March 24.