Joan Carr Kirk

Joan Carr Kirk, 95, of Trappe, MD, died in her home on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. She is survived by her husband of nearly 72 years, Alan Goodrich Kirk II; her children Augustus Kirk, Jennifer Kirk and her significant other Steve Labonte, William Kirk and his former wife Carolyn Kirk, Alison Long and her husband Chris Long. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Skye McIvor, Samuel Kirk, Baylee Kirk, Griffin Long, Alan Long and Sabin Long. She is also survived by a nephew, Sabin Carr, of Santa Barbara, California. Joan was born in Dubuque, Iowa, on Sept. 20, 1929, the daughter of Sabin and Elizabeth Carr. She was predeceased by her mother and father as well as her sister, Biz. She attended Carmel High School and graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara, with a degree in Art Education. While living in Carmel, California, Joan Carr met Army officer Alan Kirk, originally from Morristown, N.J., on a blind date. After they got married, they moved to Radnor, Pennsylvania, where they had four children. She co-founded a Montessori School in Philadelphia while her husband attended University of Pennsylvania Law School. In 1969, Alan and Joan left their wonderful life in Philadelphia and moved to Washington, D.C., to pursue their mutual commitment for protecting the environment. Alan worked in the Department of Interior and later at the newly created Environmental Protection Agency. They found their dream house in McLean, Virginia, a red and white-washed brick farmhouse on more than two acres of land. They remodeled the house and over the next 50 years it was home-base for not just the family members, but also numerous dogs and several horses. Summers were spent on Mishaum Point in Massachusetts. Together, they had a huge network of friends, enjoying time at the Chevy Chase Club, the Metropolitan Club, the Waltz Group, and bridge with their friends at the Supreme Court. Joan was an avid, lifelong tennis player, renowned bird watcher, masterful gardener and consummate artist, specializing in watercolor painting and pottery. Using her artistic skills and knowledge of botany, Joan created a calendar for a local nonprofit, Concern, Inc., that showed people how to use organic gardening instead of chemicals. Around that same time, she and other activists fought to save from developers a large piece of land in McLean known as the Burling Tract, which is now called Scott’s Run Park. Her commitment to public service never wavered, culminating in an award she received from the city of McLean for the “greening” of the city. This included planting trees throughout the downtown area. Joan was a two-time breast cancer survivor but never let that slow her down as she conducted bird-watching expeditions with friends and family members as well as guided wildflower walks on the trail that runs alongside Turkey Run Creek to the Potomac River. She played tennis deep into her 80s! She was an avid reader, always devouring the latest mysteries or other books on the New York Times best seller list. She read the New York Times and the Washington Post front to back daily, focusing much of her attention on politics and sports, particularly the Washington Capitals and their star player “Ovi.” Since 2021, Joan has lived with family in Trappe, where she nurtured multiple gardens, planted native trees and wildflowers, painted wildlife and catalogued her sightings of indigenous and migratory species of birds. To honor Joan’s memory, plant a native species. For online condolences, please visit: www.fhnfuneralhome.com.

Joan Carr Kirk

September 20, 1929 - March 18, 2025