Tribute

I met John in 1968. We worked together at the Roxy Theater in Springfield, Illinois. Our first date was New Year's Eve, 1968 to 1969. We saw the movie Yellow Submarine. That was the start of a love that lasted until his death in 2024. John loved working with his hands. He trained as an auto mechanic at the vocational education center in Springfield. He joined the Illinois Air National Guard in 1971. He always joked that he was afraid to ask Dad if he could marry me unless he joined the Guard. Both my dad and my older brother were members. He trained as a jet engine mechanic and proudly served until 1984. He built model airplanes and cars - he even built an elaborate dollhouse for our granddaughter. Together, we replaced all the cabinets in our kitchen. He installed crown molding in our living room and bedroom. After the 2006 tornado, he stained and hung all new moldings and baseboards. He also made a beautiful wooden creche for our outdoor Christmas display. One of his last big projects was building a new storage cabinet in the kitchen. John loved being a family man. He preferred the quiet home life to going out all the time. After his first heart attack in 1996, he realized he needed to make some serious changes in his lifestyle. A heart attack in 2003 sent him into congestive heart failure and the implanting of an ICD. He had open heart surgery on January 6, 2004. He had a cigarette on the way to the hospital for surgery. Sadly, the damage to his lungs and heart had already been done. In 2009 he was named the American Heart Association's Heart Hero. He had beaten type 2 diabetes and was out of congestive heart failure. He was able to do things without needing supplemental oxygen. In 2010 he received 42 shocks from his ICD. He survived this thanks to the efforts of many healthcare providers and the fact that he had worked to get himself in shape. He had actually died on the operating table and saw what waited beyond this world. He told me that part of him wanted to stay there because it was so wonderful. A voice told him he had to come back because he had more time to live. He told anyone who would listen what it was like. He was not afraid to die, he just wasn't in a hurry to do so. In 2023 he started a steep decline in his health. He had joined a study for a new cardiac device in 2020. The EBR kept his heart in sync. He developed pneumonia in October 2023, and never really recovered from it. In February of 2024, he had to be admitted to the hospital for CHF and COPD exacerbation. Hospice contacted us and said they felt he needed their help. The nurses and aides were wonderful. We felt like they were family. On December 20, 2024, he felt much better than he had in weeks. He wanted to go see the Christmas lights in a village near us one more time. As I was getting things ready to go, he passed away. He just went to sleep in his chair. He donated his body so that others could be helped by what they learned about him.

Friends & Family

Janice M. Kirk, wife; Chelsea Pokrzywinski (husband Jason), daughter; Jessica Kirk Mellen (husband Matt), daughter; Beccah Kirk-Wolessen, Nathan Pokrzywinski, Nicole Pokrzywinksi, and Ewan Mellen, Grandchildren; Nancy M. Kirk, sister, Mark Kirk, brother, Kent Hill, brother-in-law.