Laura Estelle McKeever Kimmitt

Laura Estelle Hurt McKeever Kimmitt (“HONEY”) Date of Birth March 12, 1922 Died May 10, 2017 An extraordinary life as wife, mother, and friend. Prior to those successful careers, Laura Estelle was born and raised in Sanford, Florida, one of eight children in the Jennings/ Hurt/ Rose Higgins family. Her grandfather was James C. Higgins, who arrived in Sanford in 1902 with his nine children. The Atlantic Coast Line had sent him to Sanford to establish a railroad terminal for central Florida. Sanford, at that time, was missionary country for Catholics. The Higgins/Hurt home at 1011 Oak Avenue was a hostel for visiting priests and military personnel. Many nights, you would find long hours of poker games at 5 cents a hand, headed by JL, Sr. Laura Estelle and all of the Hurt children became active members of the newly established All Souls Church, which contained a large stained class window donated by the Higgins family. After graduating high school, she moved to Alabama, where she entered a nursing training program at a charity hospital founded by a religious order nun who was the sister of James Higgins. Obtaining her degree, Laura Estelle returned to Sanford before enlisting into the US Navy. Prior to her enlistment, with a natural love for music and dancing, she attended the officers’ club at a naval air station recently established there. Again, as human nature does, she gained the attention of a handsome flyer named Edward Eugene McKeever. That relationship blossomed during his tour in the Pacific theater and her tour at Jacksonville Naval Station. Following the end of World War II, Lieutenant McKeever and now Lieutenant Hurt were married at All Souls Church in 1946. After a period of time traveling as a salesman with Auto Lite, Mr. McKeever joined the Ford Motor Company and she entered into a lifelong role of wife and mother. After rapidly advancing with Ford, the family lived in New Jersey, Atlanta and Memphis, Tennessee. During this time, they focused on raising their seven children, Terry, Mary, Edward, Donald, Laura, Carmel, and Matthew, with strict discipline and strong Catholic faith. Sadly, Eddie McKeever, Sr. passed away in 1973. Four years later, Laura Estelle moved to Florida at the urging of many of her siblings, who lived within a few miles of each other in Winter Park, where she became the glue for her siblings. Within the next few years, five of her children joined her to experience this unique extended family. Attending mass every morning, she met a wonderful widower, Gerard “Jerry” Kimmitt, in 1986 at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. They married and spent the next 30 years focusing on their 14 children, attending myriad weddings, graduations, birth of babies, and many more happy events, as well as traveling the world as a truly blessed couple. Laura Estelle never met a person who didn’t become a friend. As an active member of St. Margaret Mary Church, she became an integral part of the church community, as well as a role model for both young mothers and grandmothers. This activism came from a natural affinity and empathy in family dynamics, as well as from her personal experiences as a widow. She also acquired many friends through the Crosby YMCA. She would hold court on the exercise equipment while expounding on the need to “keep moving.” Throughout her life, she was a regular at the tennis court and Winter Park golf course. “Keep score?” That ruins a good game. All who met her loved her and now miss her dearly. A tribute will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at DeGusipe Funeral Home, Maitland, FL, 6pm-8pm (5:30-6:00pm Rosary Service, all welcome). Funeral service to be held Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 11:00am, St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, Winter Park, FL. For more information, please see: wwwDeGusipeFuneralHome.com. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Little Flower Society.

Laura Estelle McKeever Kimmitt

March 12, 1922 - May 10, 2017