Joan Mildred Hamrick Kirzinger died January 3, 2023, at the Village of Lebanon Nursing Home in Lebanon, Kentucky. Born Joan Mildred Hamrick on February 1, 1928, in Parkersburg, West Virginia, to Samuel Jennings and Josephine Carpenter Hamrick, she graduated from Shawnee High School in Louisville, Kentucky in 1945, and met her future husband, Richard Kirzinger; a Marine veteran and an engineer by training. After marrying in Louisville in 1949, the pair had many adventures living in different states and traveling around the world, even after the birth of their children. The family returned to Kentucky in 1974, settling on a farm in rural Marion County, and started an auto parts business for which Joan became the bookkeeper and an integral part of the business.

The eldest of four siblings, Joan was an avid reader, knitter, and music lover whose enduring curiosity in culture and the natural world strongly influenced her children. She dearly loved her dogs and other pets in her life, including her beloved cow, Leah, and would spend hours watching wildlife while drinking coffee on the back deck at the farm. Joan was also a dedicated sports fan, enjoying the successes of both the Kentucky Wildcats and the Louisville Cardinals; she was a consistent supporter of the Green Bay Packers. She supported her husband's, and in due course her children's, abiding interest in cars as hobby, then vocation. Joan, a lifelong Episcopalian, was also quietly spiritual and empathetic, with a strong sense of social justice. Though soft-spoken, she had a quick and often wry sense of humor and was consistently, but not naïvely, optimistic.

Joan is survived by her children, James Andrew (Kimberly Higdon) Kirzinger of Springfield, Robert Allen (Cynthia Kollios) Kirzinger of Boston, Massachusetts, Katherine Nedra (Joseph Voboril) Kirzinger of Mackville, daughter-in-law Catherine Kirzinger of Lebanon, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, as well as her younger sister Jane Latour of Alabama. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Louis Kirzinger, Sr., son Richard Louis Kirzinger, Jr., granddaughter Jessica Evans, brother Samuel Hamrick, Jr., and sister Suzanne Ronald.

The family has requested a private service and burial at the Lebanon National Cemetery. Donations may be made to the Marion County, Kentucky, Animal Shelter in lieu of flowers or other remembrances.

Bosley Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.