Attacked By Hippo In Africa, Rochester, Michigan, Woman Dies In Son’s Arms

ROCHESTER, MI — Carol Sue Kirken was cherished by the Rochester community and beyond, passionate about helping those short-changed by life and, having sailed past her recent 75th birthday, confident she would live to be 100. She would have made it, her family said, if not for a tragic accident during an annual African safari with her family: She was attacked by a hippopotamus in Tanzania Saturday and died quickly in the arms of her son, Robert.

Her family, who asked for privacy, are making plans to have her body returned to the United States, according to Modetz Funeral Home in Rochester, which is handling arrangements. An Aug. 20 memorial service is planned, with details to be announced later.

She leaves behind her husband, Bill, who knew he was “the luckiest man in the world” to have her as his life partner, and three children who “turned out wonderfully,” according to her obituary on the funeral home website. Robert is a scientist and university dean, Kris is the director of a social services agency, and David works abroad as a hotel and resort and general manager. Her children's spouses and five grandchildren also survive. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Rochester-Rochester Hills Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, like us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

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“Carol fit so wonderfully and deliciously in many lives,” according to her obituary, but even those who didn’t know her likely knew of or benefited from her lifetime of charitable work with Crittenton Hospital Medical Center, the Rochester Women's Fund and the North Oakland YMCA. A tribute wall on the funeral home website is filled with stories about her legacy.

“Carol was an exceptional human being,” Michelle Zeeman wrote. “Determined, hard working, exuberant, sensitive and caring, and as others have noted, capable of great unconditional love. I am better for knowing her and will never forget her kindness and friendship. Her brilliant light will shine always for me. Shine on, Carol, shine on.”

Dr. Malgorzata Sobilo, an oncologist at Crittenton Hospital, where Kirken recruited physicians, said Kirken was one of the first people she met when she came on staff. She described her friend as optimistic, positive and always smiling and reassuring.

“She was grateful, pleasant and made everything easy, simple and moving forward,” Sobilo wrote of Kirken’s kindnesses during her first days on the Crittenton staff. “She was on my side greeting and walking me through Crittenton doors. I will keep that moment forever in my heart.”

More recently, Kirken focused her philanthropic efforts on the North Oakland YMCA, where she was a board member and a daily user of its facilities. She was especially passionate about supporting military members and their dependents.

“This strengthened a mystical bond she saw between two dearly treasured men, navy veterans, who never met — her dearly loved father, who was fascinated by submarines, and a husband discovered to have been a submarine officer,” the obituary read.

In 2000, she was among founding members of the Women’s Fund, an endowment fund that provides financial support to organizations that improve the lives of women in need through scholarships and education programs.

“Carol was one of a kind,” Beth Morrison wrote. “Her active work on empowering women to be all that they can be has touched the lives of many, myself included. I am honored to have called her my friend. My heart goes out to her family, whom she treasured. Words are hard to come by at this moment. I will miss her smile, her generosity, her warmth and her friendship.”

In the obituary, her family said “there will always be sadness” without her, “but the joy she created is so much the stronger for her family and friends,” concluding:

“She is gone. She is here. She will always comfort us, our cherished Carol.”

Photo illustration: Photo of Carol Sue Kirken via Modetz Funeral Home; candle via Shutterstock