Maurice Kitchen

Maurice Everett Kitchen, 39, of Ottumwa, died at 2:25 a.m. November 17, 2020 at Ridgewood Specialty Care in Ottumwa. He was born December 15, 1980 in Chicago, IL to Arlene Kitchen and Stanley Jackson. Maurice attended Taft High School in Chicago where he enjoyed wrestling and belonged to the Navy ROTC. He was a champion chess player, enjoyed writing poetry and was studying to be an electrician. He was very active in church where he played the drums. During his summers as a young man, Maurice looked forward to spending time on Leamington Avenue with his cousins and at his great-grandmother’s home near Garfield Park. Maurice moved to Iowa in 2014 along with his mother, after his sister Jennifer and cousin Alicia had settled in the area. He truly enjoyed spending time with his family and was a giving and caring person. Maurice loved animals, as he shared many memories with his own pets, and other family members and friends who had them. Surviving is his mother, Arlene Kitchen Stapleton; grandmothers, Susie “Madear” Lee of Chicago, IL and Evelyn O’Banion of Memphis, TN; sisters, Evelyn (Carl) Myles of Darien, IL and Jennifer (Marcus) Cottrell of Ottumwa, IA; 3 nieces, 4 nephews, 11 aunts, 9 uncles, 6 great-aunts, 8 great-uncles, and a host of cousins and family friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Stanley Jackson; grandfathers, Eddie Kitchen, Jr. and Clinton Lee; aunt, Vera Sanders-Parr; uncles, Eric Jackson and Melvin Parr; and his beloved cousin, Kimyada. His body has been cremated. Private inurnment will take place at Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, IL. Memorial services will be held in Chicago at a later date.