Edward J. “Ed” Kirk Sr., an athlete and community leader, died of complications from atrial fibrillation Jan. 19 at Charlestown Retirement Community in Baltimore County. He was 92.
Mr. Kirk, a longtime resident of Severna Park in Anne Arundel County, was an accomplished athlete, veteran and community volunteer.
Born on July 28, 1930, to Thomas Kirk and Katherine Brennan, he grew up in and went to school in West Orange, New Jersey.
He graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair and then attended St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, where he excelled at track and field.
He attended the preparatory school to run track for one year in the hopes of getting a scholarship. He earned a track scholarship to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and completed the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program there.
In 1953, he was a member of Georgetown’s 4-mile relay team, then the fastest in the country. Two years later, he received the school’s first scholar-athlete award, the Robert A. Duffey Scholar Award, and was later inducted into the Georgetown Athletic Hall of Fame.
“He was an athlete through and through,” his daughter Anne Hart said. “I just loved being involved in sports, so he coached a lot of activities.”
Mr. Kirk was involved in sports throughout his life, including coaching recreational basketball and being president of the Green Hornets Athletic Association in Anne Arundel County. He was the official starter at the U.S. Naval Academy track meets for 50 years.
He graduated in 1955 and took a job at C&P Telephone Co. However, a few months later, he was called to active duty by the Air Force and trained to be fighter pilot. While serving in the military, he was invited to participate in the 1956 U.S. Olympic track and field trials, although he ultimately did not make the team.
He earned the rank of captain before returning to his post at the phone company. He built a 32-year career with C&P Telephone Co. and retired as an executive from Bell Atlantic, which acquired C&P in the 1980s.
In 1958, he met Elaine Borduas on a blind date in New York City. Mrs. Borduas taught the deaf and went to Columbia University before becoming a homemaker. The couple married Aug. 8, 1959, in Portland, Maine, where she is from.
“He made it a point every year to go to Maine for two to three weeks,” his daughter said. “That was important to him — going to the beach and relaxing,” Mrs. Hart said.
The pair were married for 54 years and raised four children in Severna Park in the Chartwell neighborhood, where he settled and eventually became president of the Chartwell Community Association. Mrs. Borduas died in 2014 and Mr. Kirk will be buried next to her.
Mr. Kirk was an avid golfer who enjoyed sailing on the Severn River and watching his children and grandchildren play sports, Mrs. Hart said. He cherished his lifelong friends, including his bridge group and track buddies.
Mr. Kirk volunteered with a number of charitable organizations, including Our Lady of the Fields and Sarah’s House of Catholic Charities of Baltimore. He and his wife prepared meals twice a month at Sarah’s House, a shelter in Fort Meade for families experiencing homelessness, for about a decade.
“He started coordinating volunteers to make meals for Sarah’s House, and they’re still doing it now,” his daughter said.
“He lived a really, really full life and was always giving back,” Mrs. Hart said, noting that she handled her father’s finances. “Here and there, he gave a lot to a lot of charities, but it was funny how he just wanted to spread it out to take care of everybody.”
He is survived by his sons, Edward Kirk and Michael Kirk; daughters, Susan Stokes and Anne Hart; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife Elaine Kirk; his brother Thomas Kirk; and daughter-in-law Diane Kirk.
A service was held Thursday at Our Lady of the Fields Roman Catholic Church in Anne Arundel County, followed by interment in the church cemetery.
