William H. Kirk ’56 died on November 9, 2021, in Waldwick, New Jersey.
(The following was provided by the Vander Plaat Funeral Home on November 9, 2021)
William Harold Kirk ’56
William Harold Kirk was born in Bar Harbor, Maine, on January 21, 1930, to George Harold and Helen Yeaton Kirk. Bill grew up in Bar Harbor and graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME in 1956 where he was a member of Zeta Psi Fraternity, the Bowdoin Glee Club and the Meddiebempsters, a nine-man a cappella group that toured Europe entertaining the troops for the USO. He served four years in the Korean War in the US Navy where he served as a 1st class petty officer in charge of the ship’s office. He met his wife, Mary Jane, while singing in the Monmouth Civic Chorus in Rumson, NJ, and they married in 1960.
Bill worked for the Bankers Trust Co. of New York City for twenty-seven years as an assistant vice president in the trust department and later as manager of employee benefits administration. He later was the manager of faculty and employee benefits at Columbia University and employee benefits manager at Huls Chemical Co. until he retired in 1995. Bill’s continuing education included the American Institute of Banking, Pace College and NYU while working at Bankers Trust Co.
He was a volunteer benefits advisor consultant for IEEE (International Electrical and Electronic Engineers Union) for seven years for their insurance committee. He was a member of Masonic Lodge 185 in Bar Harbor, ME, and the American Legion Post 57 in Waldwick, NJ. Bill was a member of St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church, Bar Harbor, ME, where he was an altar boy and member of the boys’ choir; St John’s Church, Ramsey, NJ, where he served as treasurer and vestry member; and Christ Episcopal Church, Ridgewood, NJ, where he was a member of the vestry, lay reader, money counter and usher. He was also a member of the Property Commission and the Clergy Compensation Committee for the Diocese of Newark, where he was recognized for the many contributions to the church and community with The David Paul Hegg 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award. He sang with the Ridgewood Singers where he served as vice president for several years and in retirement with the Wyckoff Y Adult Chorus. Bill belonged to Hobbyists Unlimited of Ridgewood since 1998 where he enjoyed hiking, trips, tours, and the investment club. Bill was also active in the Boy Scouts and was vice president of the Junior Football League.
Bill, Mary Jane, and their three children enjoyed a part of every summer at the family cottage on Long Pond and all the beauty of Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island, ME. He is survived by his wife, Mary Jane, son, William Harold Kirk, Jr, and daughter Alyson Leigh Kirk, all of Waldwick, NJ. He is predeceased by his beautiful daughter, Carrie Lynn Kirk, in 1997, his parents, Harold and Helen Kirk, sister, Dorothy Kirk Morrison, aunts Gertrude Whitmore and Charlotte Kirk Buff, and niece Kate Nowell Bunting. Survived by his cousin Barbara Haskins of Kansas City, KS, niece Lisa Nowell and her husband, Kim Stanley Robinson, and nephews David and Tim Robinson of Davis, CA, and Jim and Chris Bunting of Santa Cruz, CA, and cousin Joe Kirk of Port Clyde, ME.