Beloved Sister of Mercy Gess Kirby passed away peacefully on March 27, 2026.  Sister Gess was 92 years old and had been a Sister of Mercy for 68 years.  She died at Mercy Springwell where she had been one of the first sisters to move into the new Mercy retirement center there.

Born in the Roland Park area of Baltimore, MD, Sister Gess was the daughter of Carroll Kirby, a longtime employee of the telephone company, and Emma Sullivan Kirby, a homemaker.  At birth she was given an impressively long name that included three generations of her family, Emma Burgess Sullivan Kirby.  This lengthy name quickly went by the wayside, and Gess was the only name she remembered being called.  Later, when she became a Sister of Mercy, she was known by her religious name, Mary Estelle, a name she loved at the time, but she was happy to return to her Baptismal name, Gess, but now Sister Gess Kirby.

She attended Mount Saint Agnes lower school and high school and felt drawn to the Sisters of Mercy who were her teachers.  She considered entering religious life but was uncertain that she had a true vocation.  Years later she would claim she was "having too much fun to be a nun."  Sister Gess's mother was equally uncertain about her daughter's life choice and counseled her to go to college before making such a commitment.  Taking her mother's advice, Gess enrolled at Notre Dame College (now University) in Maryland, where she double majored in Elementary Education and Economics, earning a bachelor's degree.

Though Sister Gess hadn't forgotten her possible religious vocation, she began her teaching career in a Baltimore City school, finding that she loved working with young children.  She continued her work there for a few years but recalled that "the idea that I had a vocation was always nagging at the back of my mind."  In 1957 Gess entered the Sisters of Mercy at Mount Washington, where she made her novitiate.  At age 24, she was considered a "delayed vocation," and struggled to catch up to the younger novices.

Already a teacher, Sister Mary Estelle was soon sent out to teach school, first at Shrine of the Sacred Heart, and then at Mercy High School, both in Baltimore.  Though she enjoyed teaching, Sister Gess and her superiors recognized her potential as a counselor, so she began her studies in counseling at the University of Georgia, graduating with a Master's degree in counseling.  She returned to Mercy High as a teacher and guidance counselor, a ministry she enjoyed for 15 years.  After serving for three years in Mobile, AL, Sister Gess returned to Baltimore and ministered in pastoral care and resident activities at the Cardinal Shehan Center in Timonium and at The Villa, her community's former retirement home.  Energetic and gregarious, Sister Gess was never ready for true retirement, but remained active, continuing pastoral care ministry as a volunteer at The Villa and at Mercy Medical for as long as possible.

Survivors include a brother, Michael Kirby; a sister, Mary Victory Tillery, one niece and five nephews and many friends, especially her lifelong friend Cecilia Cymek.

Arrangements are Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at 11:00 AM at Mercy Medical Center's McAuley Chapel, 301 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD. Viewing will be from 10:00-11:00 AM. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, 8403 Colesville Rd., Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910.