Obituary: Erika Mattfeld Kirk, former first lady of Florida and widow of Gov. Claude Kirk

When she was first introduced to the world of Florida politics in January 1967, she was known simply as “Madame X.”

A statuesque blond, the mystery woman dancing with the newly inaugurated Gov. Claude Kirk caused quite a stir. For days leading up to the inauguration, Kirk had teased reporters that they would meet “his beloved” at his Inaugural Ball.

That woman was Erika Mattfeld, a German national from Brazil who had recently met Kirk on a blind date when he visited the South American country on business.

The struck up a correspondence, and within the next month and half, the pair would be married — a marriage that took them through four years in the Governor’s Mansion, a decades-long residence in Palm Beach County, a growing family and many more adventures, family said.

Erika Mattfeld Kirk, the former first lady of Florida to Gov. Claude Kirk from 1967-1971, died April 26 at age 88 at Lourdes Noreen McKeen in West Palm Beach.

She was preceded in death by her husband, who died in 2011.

Gov. Claude Kirk's obit: Former Florida Gov. Claude Kirk - 'funny, feisty, opinionated' - dies

Erika Mattfeld Kirk's life before becoming first lady of Florida to Gov. Claude Kirk

Erika Kirk was born Erika Carola Mattfeld on July 7, 1934, in Bremen, Germany. She was the third of five children, born into a tumultuous world. Her mother died of tuberculosis when Erika was just 2 years old, and the toddler was sent to live elsewhere, one of two times she would be sent away to live with another family as war shook Germany, said Claudia Kirk Barto, one of Mrs. Kirk's daughters.

She completed school at age 14 and moved to Zurich, Switzerland, where she worked in a chocolate shop until she met and fell head-over-heels for Brazilian actor Carlos Eduardo Dolabella. Mrs. Kirk moved to Rio de Janeiro to be with Dolabella. Together, they had a daughter, Adriana, before their marriage ended.

Soon after, a friend arranged a blind date between Mrs. Kirk and the future governor. The night of Kirk’s election win in 1966, Erika came to the United States “not even having known that my dad was running for office,” Barto said. “She did not speak a word of English, and she had some sort of stomach bug, so she spent the night of the election in the hospital.”

The Kirk's Palm Beach wedding a major production with national interest

Two months later, as the couple danced at the governor’s inaugural ball, she “had no idea what she was getting into,” Barto said, adding, “She always smiled, but I think she just smiled because she couldn’t speak English yet. She learned to speak English here. She learned to drive a car here — the highway patrol taught her to drive a car.”

The Kirks’ wedding was a major production with national interest, on par with other celebrity weddings of the time. In a video produced by the Florida Development Commission, the Kirks are seen celebrating first at a Feb. 17, 1967, pre-wedding dinner party in Palm Beach, the bride dressed in an elegant white gown with black details, white gloves and shimmering drop earrings. Cameras flashed as the couple greeted guests and smiled for reporters.

The following day, Feb. 18, 1967, the couple attended a morning church service at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea on the island. They walked arm-in-arm into the sanctuary, accompanied by the governor’s twin sons, Frank and Will, and flanked by Florida Highway Patrol officers. Erika wore a green and white skirt suit with a delicate lace veil over her head.

“I think it was low-key because they were both divorced, and they couldn’t get married in the church,” said Barto, who recently found a VHS copy of the wedding video while moving.

In the video, reporters crowded outside the church for photos of the couple, with officers stopping traffic as onlookers lined the street.

The Kirks then made the short drive to The Breakers, where they were married by a judge and had their wedding reception. Erika wore orange blossoms, Florida’s state flower, in her hair.

Erika and Claude both were married before: She to Dolabella, he to the same woman, twice. At the time of their wedding, Erika had her daughter, Adriana, and Claude had four children, Sarah, Katherine, Will and Frank. The couple would have two more children: Claudia and Erik.

Gov. Claude Kirk and Erika Mattfeld Kirk's life in Palm Beach

They lived for many years in Palm Beach, with more than a decade spent in the home known as the Duck’s Nest, a two-story house built in 1891 along the Intracoastal on Maddock Way. It’s the second-oldest residence in Palm Beach, after Henry Flagler’s Sea Gull Cottage. The family then moved to a home on the North End of Palm Beach. Later, Erika and Claude Kirk moved to West Palm Beach.

Mrs. Kirk preferred their quiet life in Palm Beach to the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee, Barto said.

“Everybody was blown away with her beauty, and obviously she was very glamorous, but that was far from who she was,” Barto said. “She just liked being in her bathing suit by her pool. She didn’t like all of that hoopla.”

Living in the Duck’s Nest provided many opportunities for adventure for the Kirk children. Barto said she learned entrepreneurship on the Lake Trail, where she’d set up a lemonade stand. Her mother loved being outside, Barto said.

“She loved taking long walks. She loved being on the dock, fishing,” she said. “She taught us to fish, not my dad.”

If the family wasn’t at their pool, then they were at the beach, Barto said.

“Those are my youngest memories,” she said. “We’re at the beach, whether it was the Breakers Beach Club, or on the dock jumping in the Intracoastal, or the beach up at the North End. And mom would be sitting in the sand, working on her tan. She always had to be out in the sun.”

Mrs. Kirk also had a penchant for frugality, “way before that was cool,” Barto said. Plastic in the Kirk house had to be recycled or reused.

Mrs. Kirk spent the later decades of her life volunteering at Thrift Inc. and the Church Mouse on the island.

“She loved the bargains,” Barto said of her mother’s love for the world of thrift. “She just loved people, she loved selling and she loved decorating.”

The family had many incredible experiences, including their trips to Brazil for Adriana to see her father, Dolabella. The families remained close over the years. In particular, Dolabella’s mother, Marina, and Mrs. Kirk were as close as a mother and daughter could be.

“I think she was the mother that my mom never had,” said Barto, who named her daughter Marina after the elder, who was Barto’s godmother.

Mrs. Kirk loved spending time with her grandchildren.

“What an amazing grandmother she was,” Barto said. When Barto’s oldest son, Wen, was first born, he spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit and had to undergo multiple surgeries, Barto said. Her mother was there the entire time, rocking Wen, singing to him in German.

“He came out the other side pretty amazing,” Barto said, noting that her son is now 6-feet-3-inches tall and training to be a farrier in Wellington. “Part of that comes from her and her passion and warmth for him.”

All of the Kirks’ grandchildren loved spending time with their “Omi,” Barto said. With her love of the outdoors, Mrs. Kirk would frequently take her grandchildren in the pool.

She lived an active life until about 15 months ago, when she fell and had to spend time in the hospital during the COVID-19 lockdown precautions, Barto said. In that time, Mrs. Kirk lost the use of her legs, which she was unable to regain through physical therapy, Barto said.

In the week before she died, she had pneumonia, Barto said.

Her survivors include her seven grandchildren, Wen, Kirk and Marina (Claudia and Stephen Barto, Jr.); and Caroline, Teddy, Kaki and Annabelle (Kristen and Erik Kirk).

Mrs. Kirk will be buried next to her husband at South Florida National Cemetery south of Wellington on State Road 7.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Surface 71, a West Palm Beach-based nonprofit founded and run by local students. Barto’s daughter, Marina, a high school student, is the president of the organization, which organizes local environmental cleanup events and promotes environmental sustainability, including projects to place refillable water bottle stations in schools.

The name represents the statistic that 71% of Earth’s surface is covered by water. For more information or to donate, go to www.surface71.org.

The Kirk family will receive friends at Quattlebaum, 5411 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. May 18, with a Celebration of Life Service beginning at 11:30.

The family will hold a private ceremony at the South Florida National Cemetery, where Mrs. Kirk will be buried next to her late husband.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Erika Mattfeld Kirk, widow of Florida Gov. Claude Kirk, dies at 88