Judith "Judy" Kirsch

Judith Ann Kirsch, 72, Bismarck, passed away on May 19, 2020 at CHI St. Alexius Hospital, Bismarck, ND. A celebration of life gathering will be held at a later date this summer.

Born May 1, 1948, Judy was raised on a farm southeast of Gladstone, North Dakota. She graduated from Gladstone High School and received a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Dickinson State University and a Master’s degree from North Dakota State University.

Judy taught English and German to junior and senior high students in the Mandan School District for 41 years.  She was totally dedicated to her students and her work.  Her “German food parties” at school were especially popular.  Believing that the best way to learn a language and experience a foreign culture was in person, she organized and guided several summer study tours to Germany, Switzerland and Austria for her German language students.

While teaching was Judy’s vocation, travel abroad was her avocation.  Over the course of her life she made more than 30 trips to Europe, visiting over 13 countries from Norway to Hungary.  Judy personally planned all travel details for each trip.  She was particularly taken by the culture, people and food of Turkey which she visited five times.  

Judy loved to meet people of different cultures and talk to them in their native language.  Loving the adventure and surprise of travel, she made many of her trips to Europe on her own.  One trip included Hodoni, Romania, which was the birthplace of her paternal grandfather, Peter Kirsch, who migrated to the United States in 1905.

But of all the places she traveled, her most special spot on earth was the family farm south of Gladstone. Nestled in a horseshoe bend by Antelope Creek, Judy treasured the raw beauty and serenity of this location, the large garden her mother had each summer and the many flowers that graced the landscape.  At her wish, the family farm will be her final resting place.

Surviving loved ones include her partner of 15 years, Martin R. Schock, Bismarck, ND; her brother, Rod Kirsch and his wife Michele Stipanovich Kirsch, State College, PA; and her two nieces, Kelsey Kirsch, Denver, CO, and Mackenzie Kirsch, New York City, NY.

Judy was preceded in death by her father and mother, Donald and Pauline Lefor Kirsch. 

Judy asked that memorial donations in her memory be given to a charity which cares for abused and abandoned animals.