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Bonnie June Kirk Ayres, 84, passed away on Monday, July 30, 2012, at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, surrounded by friends and loved ones. She was born to Christine Elizabeth Craig and Nathan Abston Kirk on Aug. 13, 1927, in Ripley, Tenn.
Visitation will be Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 from 1 to 4 p.m. and the service at 4 p.m. at the Hickory Flat United Methodist Church, where she had been an active member for over 60 years. The Rev. Brownie Tohill and the Rev. Neal Vick will officiate. Burial will be at the McKay Cemetery in Hickory Flat. Holly Springs Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
She was a graduate of the University of Mississippi and taught third and fifth grades in Ashland from 1953 to 1957. In 1957, she was named director of public welfare for Benton County by Gov. J.P. Coleman. In the late 1970s, Gov. Cliff Finch named her to the State Board of Mental Health. She retired in 1985 after 31 years of service. Years later, two homes in Corinth designed especially for citizens with developmental disabilities were named in her honor. They are Bonnie June Ayres Poplar Point Community Homes. She was an inactive member of the Ishtehotopah Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her many interests included reading, painting with oil and pastels, tracing genealogy, watching the Atlanta Braves baseball and Memphis Grizzlies. She was dedicated to helping others.
She is survived by a son, Jimmy Kirk Ayres; a daughter, Barbara Ayres Bradford, (Warner); five granddaughters, Christi Bradford Barker (Tommy), Angie Bradford Hopper (Ritchie), Jeanna Ayres Campbell (Mike), Kallie Kirk Ayres and Katie Lynn Ayres; one grandson-in- law, Gerry Paul Moffitt; ,eight great-grandchildren, Elizabeth Ayres Moffitt, Olivia Jerrianna Moffitt, Abigail Grace Barker, Thomas Jason Barker II, Benjamin James Barker, Minor Elton Hopper, Bradford Darden Hopper and Morgan Lea Rakestraw; one brother, Samuel Brent Kirk (Jeanette); twin sisters, Nina Kiddy and Norma Rooker (Jimmy); and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Minor Lanier Ayres, in 2001; two granddaughters, Theresa Kent Ayres in 1985 and Bonnie Ayres Moffitt in 2004; two brothers, Nathan Abston Kirk (LaJune) and Ralph Craig Kirk (Yvonne); and one sister, Betty Kirk King.
Pallbearers will be Charlie Ballard, Chuck Gadd, Jack Gadd, George Rowland, Don Taylor and Randy Walls.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hickory Flat United Methodist Church or McKay Cemetery at P.O Box 162, Hickory Flat, MS 38633.
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