Poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson once commented on the purpose of life.  

“It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate,” he wrote, “to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” 

Social worker, educator, and Library supporter and partner Alice Kitchen was a tireless advocate throughout her career and after retiring, standing up for the most vulnerable members of society. Kitchen died on Friday at the age of 83.  

“Alice was a force in our community — for women, for children and for those who believed in equal rights for all people,” says Deputy Director for Public Affairs & Community Engagement Carrie Coogan. 

Since 2015, Kitchen helped plan and promote Library programming each year during Women’s Equality Week, working with the Women’s Equality Coalition of Greater Kansas City, which she co-founded in 2012. 

And, at events at the Library — with presenters as varied as Misty Heggeness, author of Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy, and Equality Now founder Jessica Neuwirth — Kitchen often staffed informational tables or gave introductory remarks. 

“Alice saw the world differently, and I always appreciated that about her,” says Steve Woolfolk, the Library’s director of programming and marketing. “She loved this city, and she wanted to do great things for our community.” 

He adds, “But she was deeply committed to sharing the credit. You would never hear Alice say, ‘I did this.’ It was always ‘Look what we can accomplish when we work together.’” 

Kitchen grew up in the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated from Bishop Hogan High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Immaculate Heart College, and a master’s degree in social work from the University of California-Los Angeles. She spent nine years as a novice and postulant with the Sisters of Social Service in California.  

When Kitchen returned to Kansas City, she worked at several nonprofits and served on numerous commissions and boards. She spent two decades at Children’s Mercy Hospital, retiring as director of social services in 2012, and co-founded Amethyst Place, a housing program for women and children. 

In 2012, Kitchen was tapped as the volunteer co-chair of the Affordable Care Public Education Committee for the Kansas City area, raising awareness about the ACA across six counties in Missouri and Kansas. She received the Champion of Change award from President Barack Obama in recognition of her efforts. 

Kitchen estimated getting the word out about the ACA to more than 1,200 people in 72 different settings, including a talk at the Library featuring Wendell Potter, author of Deadly Spin.  

She long supported women’s issues and promoted civic engagement and voter education with the League of Women Voters. She also took part in the Loretto Feminist Network and served on the city’s Gender Equity Task Force.  

Coogan says, “She will be missed,” not only by the Library, but by all who benefited from her dedication to the rights of women and children and those who championed the same ideals.