CLEVELAND, Miss. — Mrs. Patricia Kelly Kirkland, 67, of Cleveland, passed away at North Sunflower Medical Center in Ruleville, Miss., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011. Visitation will be today, Sept. 1, 2011, at Ray Funeral Home from 6 until 8 p.m. Celebration of life service will be Friday, Sept. 2, 2011, at Ray Funeral Home at 2 p.m. with Brother Jimmy Breland and Wayne Sistrunk officiating.

Mrs. Kirkland was born Jan. 7, 1949, to John Kochi and Myrtle Eugenia Bledsoe in Vicksburg. She married James E. Kirkland June 6, 1969, in Donaldsonville, Ga. She taught art appreciation at Mississippi Delta Community College for several years. She was a graduate of Delta State University.

Mrs. Kirkland wrote many children’s books and wrote a cooking column for the Bolivar Commercial. She was a member of the Mound Bayou Health Center Board of Trustees for 14 years. She had a passion for making pottery. Mrs. Kirkland was a member of the Shaw Baptist Church.

She is survived by her husband, the Rev. Jim Kirkland of Cleveland; children, Susan Kirkland Woods (Ricky) of Drew, Miss., Christopher Kirkland (Angela) of Southaven, Miss., Stephen H. Kirkland of Okinawa, Rachel Patricia Kirkland of Delray Beach, Fla., Andrew Kirkland (Kelly) of Cleveland and Sarah Kelly Kirkland of Cleveland; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. She was preceded in death by her grandchild.

Online guestbook may be viewed and signed here.