Patricia Trotter Kirkland

Patricia Trotter Kirkland of Charleston, beloved wife, caring mother, and cherished grandmother, died on September 11, 2026, after a life of devotion to her family and her community.

Born to the late William Yates and Mary Martha Hayes Trotter in Monticello, Arkansas on August 31, 1931, she graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and moved to Durham, NC, where she took a job as an administrative assistant to the Chief of Surgery at Duke Medical School. Having initially turned down a blind date with Tom Kirkland, a medical student whom she deemed “too serious,” a year later she succumbed to his hidden charms. After a whirlwind courtship, in April 1958 they entered into a union that lasted more than 68 years, and produced three daughters and nine grandchildren.

Trish spent most of her married life in Charleston, where Trish was a tireless civic volunteer. Over the decades she made an enormous difference at the Charleston Speech and Hearing Clinic, Horizon House (later absorbed by the Carolina Youth Development Center), Ashley Hall School, and St. Michael’s Church. With Hugh Lane, Sr., she led the inaugural fund-raising campaign at Ashley Hall and eventually became its first female Board Chair, shepherding the school through a time of transition with strong, principled leadership. She was a trailblazer at St. Michael’s Church as the second woman to serve on the Vestry and the first to serve as Senior Warden. She was a member of the first board at Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Home, never imagining at the time that she would one day live there herself.

The primary locus of her devotion was her family, and in particular, her beloved Tom. Their lives were one, and their marriage a relationship of mutual love, commitment, and deep companionship, peppered by occasional flashes of impatience (his) and unfiltered candor (hers). She held her daughters to high standards and was proud of who they became. Among the highlights of the mother-daughter bond were the annual trips to Bob Ellis Shoes, on her dime. She loved spending time with her nine grandchildren (Kathy: Will, Kate (Jordan) and Sam; Betsy: Ella, Thomas, Jack, and Charlie; Anne: Caroline and Eliza). Her baking was legendary among them, and they eagerly devoured her biscuits, brownies, and trademark chocolate-chip poundcake. She loved reading aloud to them, particularly during the long summer vacations at the beach, and had a particular fondness for “The Night I Followed the Dog.”

An avid walker, Trish was a familiar sight around the streets of downtown Charleston and later on the Bishop Gadsden campus as she put in her daily miles. It was a sign of her drive and determination that she kept moving until the last days of her life. A true leader and doer, she combined intelligence and good judgment with elegance and charm. Trish Kirkland made a difference not only in the lives of her family members but in many organizations throughout Charleston. We will miss her dearly and strive to honor her legacy. She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Dr. Thomas A. Kirkland, Jr., MD, her three daughters, Kathy Kirkland, MD (Steve Leach), Betsy Kirkland Cahill (John Cahill), and Anne Kirkland, her nine grandchildren Will, Kate Gautier Byers (Jordan) and Sam Gautier; Ella, Thomas, Jack, and Charlie Cahill; and Caroline and Eliza Polich; her brother Virgil Trotter, and several nieces and nephews. She is pre-deceased by her brother, Yates, and her sister, Martha.

Visitation will be at 2 Ladson Street on Thursday, September 17 from 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm, and a celebration of life will be held at St. Michael’s Church on Friday, September 18 at 11:00 am.

Funeral arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Ashley Hall School, 172 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC, 29401/attn Patricia Trotter Kirkland Endowment for the Humanities, or St. Michael’s Church, 71 Broad Street, Charleston, SC, 29401.