Kimberly Ann Harrick

June 11, 1969 - July 16, 2020

Kimberly Ann Harrick died peacefully, surrounded by family, of pancreatic cancer on Thursday, July 16, 2020 at the age of 51. She was born in St. Louis, MO on June 11, 1969 to parents Edward (predeceased in 2017) and Karen (Wimmer) Harrick. Kim was a devoted daughter to Ed and Karen, sister to Beth (Scott Hess) and Stephen, and aunt to Xander. She is survived by a loving extended family, treasured friends, and cherished godchildren and chosen nieces/nephews. An educator until the end, Kim showed all of us how to live and die with courage, grace, and love. Kim completed her early education at St. Boniface (1983) and Edwardsville High School (1987) before earning her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and MAT and EdS advanced degrees at Webster University. Kim enjoyed a full and vibrant career committed to education. After teaching internationally during a stint in Saipan, Kim settled in the Rockwood School District. At Ridge Meadows she taught 2nd grade where she was honored as Teacher of the Year (1996) and with the Districtwide ROSE Award (1999). In 2002 she traveled to Alaska when she was selected Teacher on the Trail for the Iditarod. She worked across the district for a few years in Instructional Technology before serving as Assistant Principal at Ridge Meadows and subsequently at Uthoff Valley where she ended her career. She was a frequent Rockwood summer school administrator, and she also taught online college courses at Webster University. Her students are her testament to a life well-lived. Kim lived life with gusto and embraced traveling and outdoors adventures throughout her life. She loved hiking and the outdoors, whether conquering Yosemite’s Half Dome, filling her spirit with MOBOT’s beauty, tramping in New Zealand’s Tongariro National Park, being awestruck at Olympic National Park and Hoh Rain Forest, experiencing Old Faithful or traversing Matanuska Glacier in AK. She also traveled to Hawaii, Canada, England, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and Sweden. Kim was a pillar of strength, courage and integrity who loved her people fiercely. Her mark in our hearts is indelible. Loyal to her abundance of friends and loved ones, she built us up with her limitless positivity, reminding us of our strengths and loving us unconditionally. Grateful in life’s every small joy, we will miss her robust laughter and generous hugs. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Canterbury Incorporated in Shrewsbury at https://CanterburyInc.org/, Wash U’s Catholic Student Center at http://www.WashUCSC.org/, Rockwood Gives Back at https://www.rsdmo.org/community/giveback/Pages/default.aspx or a charity of your choice. If you’d like to see some of Kim’s self-penned biographical sketches, including Iditarod's Teacher on the Trail bio (circa 2002) and Webster University's faculty bio, check out. http://web.archive.org/web/20020601202052/http://www.iditarod.com/kim-01-16-02.html http://www.webster.edu/education/about/kimberly-harrick.html. A memorial reception will be held on Saturday, September 4, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Westport Chalet Hotel, 191 Westport Plaza, St. Louis, MO, 63146. Please kindly RSVP no later than August 21, by emailing Beth at [email protected] For more information please visit www.rememberingkimharrick.com.