Mary Lou Kirby

Mary Lou Kirby, 73, of Fort Dodge, passed away Friday September 27, 2024, in Louisburg, KS.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM Friday October 4, 2024, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Corpus Christi Cemetery. There will be a visitation from 4:00 to 7:00 PM Thursday October 3, 2024, at Laufersweiler Funeral Home.

Mary Lou is survived by her sons, Chad (Renea) Kirby of Louisburg, KS, Matthew (Brooke) Kirby of Overland Park, KS, and Greg (Jobina) Kirby of Fort Dodge; mother, Dorothy Venteicher: grandchildren, Thomas, Josh, Jaxsen, Preston, Harrison, Calvin, Ignatius, Aianna, and AvaMarie; great granddaughter, Lila Renea: sisters, Linda (Larry) Venteicher of Carroll, Rose (Kirby) Berhow, of Milford, Shari (Larry) Whiting, of La Verkin, UT, Sandy (Curt) Hokinson of Manson, Jean Lydeen of St. Cloud, MN, Joann (Gordon) Houser of Red Oak, Kathy (Jack) Hendrickson, of Coon Rapids, and Connie (Dave) Nebel, of Dyersville; brothers, Dan Venteicher, Randy (Lynn) Venteicher, and John Venteicher.

Mary Lou is preceded in death by her husband, Thomas, and her father, Paul Venteicher.

Mary Lou Venteicher was born on Jun 12, 1951, in Carroll. She was raised and educated in Fort Dodge, graduating from St. Edmond High School in 1969. Mary Lou then received her degree in nursing from Iowa Central Community College. On October 15,1971, she was united in marriage to Thomas Kirby and the couple established their home in Fort Dodge. In 1984, they moved to an acreage near Vincent. Mary Lou was a Registered Nurse at Trinity Regional Hospital for 43 years, retiring in 2014.

Mary Lou was a devoted Catholic (Holy Trinity Catholic Church) and spent her retirement years serving her community by volunteering at the Holy Trinity Food Pantry, serving the needy in the Fort Dodge community. She was an active member of the VFW Auxiliary and enjoyed supporting our veteran community and forging life-long friendships.

Family gatherings, exaggerated tales of greatness and stories of hilariously epic failures brought the greatest smiles to her face. She was a baker of cookies, master gardener of flowers and weeds, raiser of ornery sons and grandchildren and a life-long wrangler of Tom. She has earned her rest in heaven.

Mary Lou wanted everyone to know that since she was a child she considered Jesus Christ to be her best friend.

Memorials may be left to the ALS Association (ALS.org) or the Holy Trinity Food Pantry.