AUBURN – Geneva A. Kirk, 90, of Auburn, passed away Friday, Nov. 2, at Clover Manor.

She was born March 18, 1917, in Lewiston, the daughter of Chester and Mary (Hodsdon) Kirk. She lived most of her life in her family homestead at 30 Ware St., in Lewiston, until moving to Clover in 2002. She graduated from Lewiston High School, class of 1933. She was voted “Most Brilliant Woman” in her class by her fellow classmates. She went on to Bates College and graduated in 1937, with her Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in French, and earned her master’s in education in 1948. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Phi Alpha and Phi Sigma Iota. Geneva was a firm believer in continuing education. Over the years she took courses at Boston University and the University of Maine. She did a Coe Fellowship in American History at State University of New York, in 1966. In 1993, she received an honorary Doctors of Law degree from Bates College.

She was a truly dedicated teacher. She taught at Norridgewock High School from 1937 to 1940, was an instructor and the social director at Central Maine General Hospital, School of Nursing, from 1940 to 1942, taught at Cony High School from 1943 to 1949, and taught at Lewiston High School for 30 years, from 1949 until her retirement in 1979. While at Lewiston High School, she served as a guidance counselor and taught social studies, serving as the head of the social studies department for 15 years. She also taught adult education and summer school, and served as president.

Geneva authored several books. In 1966 and 1968 she co-authored a text on Maine government for high school students that were used in state schools. In 1972, she embarked on an adventure to write a children’s book for Maine elementary school children. She traveled to Brazil, (Rio Grande Do Notre), Maine’s partner state, and stayed for several months to compile information for her book. In 1980 to 1981, she co-authored “Historic Lewiston – Its Government,” and in 1989 co-authored “Historic Lewiston – Its Fire Department.”

She was a member of countless organizations including National Education Association Credentials Committee – Department of Classroom Teachers Advisory Council, National Council of Social Studies, Maine Council of Teacher Accreditation, New England Association of Social Studies, New England History Association, Maine Joint Committee on Economics, Maine State Preservation Society, Poland Spring Preservation Society, Maine Historical Society, Maine State Museum Commission, Maine League of Historical Societies, Women’s Literary Union, Androscoggin Home Health Annual Fund Committee and Horizons/55, as a lecturer and program planner, just to name a few.

She held a wide variety of positions for many organizations. She was a volunteer for Girl Scouting for 27 years, serving as a troop leader and as president of the Lewiston-Auburn Council. She served as president of the Maine Department of Classroom Teachers, Maine Department of Social Studies, L/A College Club, Friends of the Lewiston Library and as chapter president of American Field Service, and also served as president and as a member of the advisory board for the Western Maine Area on Aging.

She served as a board member and secretary for the Androscoggin County Historical Society, and as chair, president, secretary, tour leader and lecturer for the Lewiston Historical Commission, and as the chair of the city’s Heritage Division for the Bicentennial Celebration. She was a board member for Maine Partners of the Americas – Education Division, Cooperative Extension, Lewiston Tomorrow, Board Chairman for L/A Arts, and as a secretary for the League of Women Voters.

Teaching was Geneva’s passion and her life, in and out of the classroom. She was a member of the Maine Teacher’s Association, and served as its president from 1970 to 1971, and served as vice president and on many of its committees. She was a three-term president for the Lewiston Teachers Association, 1950, 1972 and 1973, and as a member of the executive committee for 10 years. She served as president, and on the board of directors for the Androscoggin County Teacher’s Association. Geneva was a member of the Maine Retired Teachers Association, serving as president from 1983 to 1985, vice president and parliamentarian, and as president and secretary for Androscoggin Retired Teachers. She served on the University of Maine system board of trustees and Lewiston-Auburn College Advisory Council, where she served as a member and was instrumental in working for the creation of the Lewiston-Auburn College of the University of Southern Maine. In 1995, for her work and devotion, she received a Distinguished Service Award from the University of Maine, Augusta.

She was named Teacher of Year in 1963, and she received Maine Teacher’s association Political Action Award for outstanding leadership in 1975. She received Distinguished Service Awards from the Maine Education Association, Bates College, and in 1989, from Central Maine Technical College (now CMCC). Twice she was honored with Distinguished Service Awards from the National Education Association and from the Partners of the Americas. In 1981, Geneva received the Lewiston Teacher’s Association Service Award – this award is now named after her.

She loved and worked extensively for the American Red Cross. She was active in their fundraising service to the military and to families in need. She spent endless hours as a Blood Program chair and Blood Drive organizer, taking the lead to sponsor several blood drives a year with her church and with the retired teachers in the area. She acted as a night and weekend caseworker helping families in crisis. For more than 10 years she took responsibility to provide Christmas gifts to patients at the Augusta Mental Health Institute. She was a direct service volunteer, an organizer of special projects, a member of the board of directors and was chair of the Junior Red Cross. She was honored with the National Regional Red Cross Blood Program Award for her distinguished service.

She also held a special place in her heart for the United Way. She served on the board of directors and the Participating Agency Review committee, and spent endless hours on fundraising activities. Geneva spearheaded the development of the First Call program with the United Way of Androscoggin County. The program is the most comprehensive information and referral phone service in the state and is a model for similar programs across the country. She also played a key role in the development of an expansion program targeted for youth at risk. She continued her involvement by participating as a volunteer to answer calls. Her service to the United Way was recognized by her being named Volunteer of the Year, in 1995, and having that annual volunteer award, an engraved teacher’s bell, re-named The Geneva Kirk Award for Community Service.

She was a member of the Lewiston Area Chamber of Commerce. In 1959 she received the Junior Chamber of Commerce Community service award and in 1988 she was named L/A Chamber of Commerce, “Woman of the Year.”

She received a public service award from Pomona Grange, a key to the city from the City of Auburn and was named Lewiston’s Citizen of the Year.

In 1980, the Lewiston-Auburn Rotary Club honored Geneva as a Paul Harris Fellow for her generous contribution to The Rotary Foundation. Her contribution was used to provide scholarships for high school and college students wishing to study abroad.

She received the Maine Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration Public Service Award in 1996, “for her outstanding contributions to her community and State of Maine which reflect the finest qualities of civic leadership, dedication to public affairs, and effectiveness in responding to the many challenges we face in our communities and throughout Maine.”

On April 5, 2006, she was honored at the State House when Governor John Baldacci presented her with the Maine Health Care Association “Remember Me” award. An award given to honor residents of nursing homes and residential care facilities across the state “who have spent the best years of their lives making a difference for their families, communities, state and country.”

One of her top honors was receiving the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen medal of honor in 1993. At that time, only 43 women had received this distinguished recognition in the nation. It is the highest award bestowed to a non-member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. It was in recognition of her outstanding accomplishments in the field of education and as an American citizen, demonstrating her leadership, patriotism, trustworthiness and service.

One of her proudest moments was on May 6, 1993. Geneva was a founding member of the board of trustees for the Maine Technical College System and guided the development of the system from 1986 to 1991, and was a member of the Central Maine Technical Education Foundation. On this day, her service to the Technical College system was recognized by the dedication and naming the Occupation Health, Safety and Nursing building on the campus of Central Maine Technical College in Auburn, (now known as the Central Maine Community College), the Geneva A. Kirk Hall. The President of CMTC, Dr. William J. Hierstein, described her as “a legend in this town. She is a model of what one person can do. She has done so many wonderful things for education and for the community throughout her life and career.” Also at the dedication, the Mayors of Lewiston and Auburn, James Howaniec and Richard Trafton, proclaimed it to be Geneva A. Kirk Day, in recognition of her efforts to improve the lives of the residents of the Twin Cities.

She was a proud and faithful member of the High Street Congregational Church in Auburn. The church was an important and driving force in her life. She served as president of the parish, clerk and librarian. She was a member of the Christian Education board, Maine Council of Churches – Commission on Religious Education, Cumberland Association of Congregational Churches, and the Maine Conference of U.C.C. She served as the president of the L/A Council of Churches.

She worked with WCBB and Maine Public Broadcasting, both as a fundraiser and as a consultant, contributor and judge for their show, “So You Think You Know Maine.” After she retired from teaching, she, along with her friends, would visit area elementary schools. They took antique items such as tools, kitchen equipment, and any old items they may have had to show the students the ways of the past.

In her spare time, Geneva could be found working in her garden, canning, making applesauce, baking muffins, making her famous watermelon pickles, making May baskets for the elderly or knitting mittens and afghans to donate to the church craft fair or for needy families. She took many people, including Bates College students, into her home. She worked with the VITA Program, Volunteer Income Tax Aide, assisting the elderly with their income taxes. She worked on many political campaigns, including those of Ken Curtis, Walter Mondale and for her friend, Peggy Rotundo. She was never idle and continued with most of these endeavors well into her mid 80s.

She was a wealth of knowledge and was always more than willing and honored to give interviews or just answer questions about Lewiston, the state of Maine, government, teaching or any other subject one may ask her about, and there was very little that she didn’t have the answers to.

She was a teacher, a mentor, a role model, an inspiration and mostly a friend to many, many people. All of her selfless work and years of giving will be felt for generations to come. She once said “When I went to Bates College, they always drummed into us that if we had the advantage of an education we owed society a lot, that we had never paid fully for our education.” She truly believed and lived this ideal to the fullest.

The family would like to sincerely thank all of her friends who continued to visit with Geneva while she was Clover. She was one-of-a-kind and will be sadly, sadly missed.

She is survived by a nephew, Douglas Kirk and his wife, Brenda, of Leeds, and their children Katelyn of Leeds, Ashley Alden of Lewiston and Kyle Kirk of Littleton, N.H.; a nephew, Roger Kirk Jr. and his wife, Linda, of Fremont, N.H., and their children, Daniel Kirk of Corvallis, Ore., and Kevin Kirk and his wife, Melody, and their children, Hillary and Elric, of Albany Ore.; and by a niece, Kathleen McCracken of Virginia Beach, Va.

She was predeceased by her parents; brothers, Cecil Kirk and Roger Kirk Sr. and his wife, Kathleen (Murphy); a half brother, Kenneth Kirk; and a nephew, Marshall Kirk.