Individual Details

Longview News-Journal, Longview, Texas, January 16, 2009. Deceased Name: Benefactor Rose Kirkpatrick dies at 79. W.D. Northcutt remembers the times when he and many other people gathered around Rose Kirkpatrick's kitchen island, talking about the future of Longview and preparing hor d'oeuvres for the Longview Community Theater. "We called it the Kitchen Kabinet," Northcutt recalled Thursday. "The 'K' in cabinet was for Kirkpatrick, and we would stand up there preparing food, laughing and catching up on the news. We had a good time together. It feels like yesterday when I think about it." Rose Kirkpatrick died Wednesday evening of natural causes. She was 79. Kirkpatrick sat on numerous boards and organizations, including the Good Shepherd Medical Center's Foundation board and the Junior League of Longview. She also donated money to the Trinity School of Texas to have two buildings constructed, the Martin and Kirkpatrick buildings, and supported numerous other projects and events on the campus. Northcutt said the city has lost a true legend. "We got to know her when we lived in the same neighborhood, and she began asking us to help with different events and causes in the city," Northcutt said. "She was a fine woman and has done so much for Longview." Kirkpatrick was born Aug. 22, 1929, in Little Rock, Ark. Her father, Jack Pickens, was well known in Arkansas as a political pioneer, and at one time had the largest general contracting firm in the state. Kirkpatrick married Kenneth Kirkpatrick on Sept. 6, 1952. After a stint in Lubbock and Dallas, the couple moved to Longview in 1963, where they owned R and K Distributors and became active in community service and philanthropy. "My Daddy built a large, beautiful room called the Michelob Room in the back of the warehouse to originally hold fund raisers to help raise money for the Trinity School," daughter Tori Kirkpatrick said Thursday. "Eventually, he would loan the room to other nonprofit organizations to hold fund raisers and functions free of charge." Son-in-law Mike Martin, current operator of R and K Distributors, can remember many events and parties at the Michelob Room sponsored by many organizations Rose Kirkpatrick chaired. "I'm sure more than 60,000 people have gathered in that room throughout the years for all kinds of events that benefited the city," Martin said. "It would be safe to say millions of dollars have been raised in that room, and it has gone straight back into the community. She was truly a remarkable woman with a very big heart." Family friend Linda Thomas said Kirkpatrick cared about Longview's future. "She cared about all aspects of the city's growth whether it was economic or cultural," Thomas said Thursday. "She was a Southern woman with class, and she will be dearly missed. Longview has lost an absolutely fine woman." Tori Kirkpatrick said her mother was wonderful and had a big heart for everyone she met. "My mother loved Longview." Kim Bonnen, a granddaughter of Rose Kirkpatrick, is married to state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton. The state House adjourned in Kirkpatrick's honor on Thursday. A funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Longview. Family members ask that donations be sent to Trinity School of Texas, Trinity Episcopal Church or Texas Home Health Hospice.

Birth	22 Aug 1924
Birth	22 Aug 1929	Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas
Marriage	6 Oct 1951	Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas - Kenneth LeRoy Kirkpatrick
Death	14 Jan 2009	Longview, Gregg Co., Texas
Burial		Unknown

Spouse	Kenneth LeRoy Kirkpatrick (1921 - 1989)
Child	Gail Elizabeth Kirkpatrick (1953 - )
Child	Kimberly Rose Kirkpatrick (1956 - )
Child	Victoria Shipton Kirkpatrick (1958 - )