Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

January 27, 2016

Beatrice Elizabeth Taylor Quirk "Bea" CHARLOTTE - Often rising to catch the morning stars and sunrise, in the early hours of Wednesday, January 27th, our good friend Bea Quirk left us to become a morning star herself. Born the youngest child to hard-working folk on November 11, 1954 in Everett MA, she grew up in North Reading MA. She went on to become the first member of her family to finish college, receiving a degree in Journalism from Boston University. Working in her chosen field in Vermont and Pennsylvania, she finally settled in Charlotte where she worked for a number of local and regional publications as a writer and editor. An unabashed political liberal, Bea immersed herself in local politics working in numerous campaigns and serving as the Executive Director of the local Democratic Party. But writing always pulled her back to her desk where she loved the interplay of ideas and helping others communicate their visions and aspirations. Bea was preceded in death by her parents, Kenneth and Alice Taylor, her mother's twin sister and her husband (Louise and Archie Gordon) and her sister, Judy Taylor Riemer. Left to remember and love her are her sister and brother-in-law (Carol and James Garland of Sebec ME), her adopted Charlotte families the Kimmels (June and Charity) and the Malkemes (Bob and Janet), Heloise Merrill, Ian Noblitt, Merlin (her feline secretarial assistant) and Ike Heard, for whom she was the best and dearest friend. Always bemused by, but proud of, her Newfoundland fisherman heritage, she often quoted Marshall McLuhan, "There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew." We have lost a worthy crew mate and most beloved friend, but have a new morning star to guide us safely through a troubled sea. An announcement will be forthcoming about the date and place where a celebration of Bea's life will be held. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Bea's honor may be made to Crisis Assistance Ministry (www.crisisassistance.org), the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation (http://foundation.cmlibrary.org), the Joslin Diabetes Center (http://www.joslin.org), and Doctors Without Borders USA (https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org).

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth Poe Funeral & Cremation Services, 1321 Berkeley Ave Charlotte NC 28204. Phone: 704 641-7606