(1952-2022)
Kirk died quietly on Feb. 24 in the Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. Family gratefully acknowledge that his 70th birthday was spent peacefully with some of his closest relatives.
Kirk was born in Lovelock, NV and lived in Tungsten, Lovelock, and Winnemucca while growing up. He graduated from Lowry H.S. in May, 1970.
He attended UNR and eventually graduated with a double-major in Psychology and Sociology. Ironically, in later years he considered both of those disciplines to be “equally useless.” Kirk then went on to get a degree in teaching and taught for two years. He was wonderful with special education students.
Kirk held numerous jobs over his adult life. His most passionate work was fixing trucks/cars. He inherited an ability to make any vehicle run from his grandfather ‘Pa’ and his father Meade. Fortunately for a lot of folks he had many other Sheppard and Allred genes that served him well.
Kirk’s life could be summarized by Frank Sinatra’s song “I Did Things My Way.” His adult life was further characterized by the many hardships he endured. If he had been autopsied the medical examiner would have been stunned upon seeing how many times his heart had been broken.
However, a big part of Kirk’s legacy is that he rarely whined or complained. He rejected the role of ‘victim’ and did his best live as fully as possible. Over the course of the last fifty years he honored his Sheppard and Allred ancestors by quietly going about his work and serving others as best as he could.
For those old enough to know where ‘Star Peak” is, may that mountain remind you of how steadfast Kirk was. He is now reunited with his cousins Terry, Russell, and Lynn, along with a passel of other kinfolk. We’re confident that their reunion is as raucous as any other gathering of the clan in Unionville.
Jessie & Keith thank those who provided different types of support and care to Kirk the last several years. Your sacrifices are deeply appreciated. We hope that your time with Kirk was a reminder of what Neal Diamond noted many years ago when he sang “he ain’t heavy he’s my brother.”
