Mary Ann Kirkpatrick died October 12, 2018 in Richmond, Virginia.

What a beautiful woman! Mary Ann's journey on Earth was an exciting adventure. In the presence of her family in Richmond, she began her eternal life with God. Mary Ann radiated such a powerful loving energy that people looked forward to the opportunity to be in her lively presence.

Already as a child, when her father took her to the movies, Mary Ann would spontaneously entertain fellow movie-goers by singing songs including "Pistol Packin' Mama." She especially enjoyed watching the Durango Kid films with her younger brother, George Neofotis. Mary Ann was a loving and protective sister. She fondly cherished her childhood memories of living in Lewisburg, West Virginia, from her Tarzan and Jane themed-contests with her childhood friends to her birthday parties at the Greenbrier Resort, where she so enjoyed swimming on weekends.

She recently celebrated her 57th wedding anniversary with her husband, Thomas "Tom" McGuffin Kirkpatrick Jr. They met in Lexington and were high school sweethearts. Mary Ann was also a cheerleader and had the rare honor of being elected the school's Homecoming Queen during her junior year. She was also voted most popular and most bashful.

Even though Mary Ann was accepted in the drama program at William and Mary, she decided to go to Radford College and studied elementary education. After marrying Tom, they moved for five years to Charlestown, West Virginia, where they had their first two children. She became a member of the Dolley Madison Garden Club, an instructor and choreographer of ballet, and was renowned for her toe tap pointe talent.

In 1968, when Mary Ann and Tom moved to Richmond, where their third child will later be born, they became members of St. Edward Catholic Church in Bon Air and then later of St. Benedict Catholic Church, when they moved their family to the Museum District. Mary Ann was very spiritual and devoted to her faith. She was a Eucharistic minister at St. Benedict Church. Mary Ann was a substitute teacher for the schools and volunteered for organizations and community events with all her heart. She enjoyed praying and meditating in her gardens.

She had a natural flair with interior design and loved decorating her houses in Richmond with that "classy cool" style of hers. She loved to design clothes, sew, sculpt, create with stained glass, read, listen to music and travel the world by sea with her husband and daughter. She also enjoyed bicycling and jogging on the Virginia Beach boardwalk near her oceanside beach house. Mary Ann loved her dogs, her cat, rabbits, and horses. She was known for her delicious Greek, Italian and U.S. southern cooking. Her paternal grandfather, parents and brother were restaurant owners and her maternal grandparents established a grocery and delicatessen store.

Mary Ann took pride in the fact that her first-born, Thomas McGuffin Kirkpatrick III, pursued his passion for the sea and received his degree in ocean engineering at Texas A&M University at Galveston. She was also proud to be the mother of Dr. Peter S. Kirkpatrick and mother-in-law of Dr. Françoise Ravaux-Kirkpatrick, co-founders of the VCU and U of R French Film Festival – Richmond, especially when they were knighted by the French government. Mary Ann felt blessed to have given birth to a daughter with a gift of her own innate painting style. Mary Ann encouraged her daughter, Mary-Susan Kirkpatrick, to publish Beau-He-Me-N-Rib, a collection of Mary-Susan's decades of original art and poetry.

Mary Ann was preceded in death by her parents Antoinette D'Elicio Neofotis and Peter S. Neofotis, as well as aunts and uncles, including her aunt, Anastasia "Tess" Neofotis Barr, who was raised like a sister to Mary Ann. She is survived by her husband Thomas McGuffin Kirkpatrick, Jr., and two sons Thomas "Trey" Kirkpatrick III, who resides in New England, and Peter S. Kirkpatrick (Françoise) from Richmond, and her one daughter as well as best friend, Mary-Susan Kirkpatrick, who lives in Lexington. Mary Ann is also survived by three grandchildren, Kelsey, Ryan, and Ethan Kirkpatrick; a step-granddaughter, Catherine Ravaux-Black (Jordan); and three step-great-grandchildren, Alexander, Sophie, and Koko Black; her brother, George Neofotis and his wife and three children; a niece by marriage and her husband and two children; many cousins, especially Derrick Barr (Karen) and W. Frederick George of Savannah, Ga., a close friend of the family for 40 years.

A private burial with immediate family took place October 20, 2018 at Stonewall Jackson Cemetery in Lexington. There will be a mass celebrating Mary Ann's life at a future date to be announced and to take place at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Lexington, where she was married and was a member.

In lieu of flowers your dedicated donation in honor of Mary Ann's life may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Arrangements are by Harrison Funeral Home & Crematory.