Tom Kirkwood

Thomas Robert Kirkwood passed away peacefully on September 1, 2025. With his daughters Catherine and Christine at his bedside in the days and hours before he passed, he had visits and calls from beloved family members and friends who were able to say goodbye to him in meaningful ways.

Tom was born April 15, 1942, in Omaha, Nebraska, son of Phillip and Margaret Kirkwood. After serving five years in the Marine Corps, he settled in Olathe, Kansas, and became a well-known member of the local American Legion, VFW, and Forty & Eight communities. It was at this time he also began a career at TWA, where he developed deep, long-time friendships with a multitude of colleagues. Many of them gather regularly for their ‘TWA luncheon’ and Tom loved attending these while his health allowed. Special friends from this time of his life remained close with him, visiting him at his bedside shortly before his passing.

For his entire life, Tom was always up for fun and games, tricks and treats. It was while attending Blessed Sacrament Catholic School that Tom’s initial talent for finding unique ‘trinkets’ was realized. He came home from school announcing to his devout Catholic mother that he had found a statue near the church and brought it home. Rushing to find what she thought might be a holy statue of a saint from the church, she found instead a mannequin discarded from the local beauty shop. “Gertrude” became the center of many stories and tales thereafter as she traveled along in the backseat of the car on road trips or showed up in places no one would ever expect to see her. A Gertrude sighting is just one of many stories about Tom that family, friends, neighbors, and grandchildren share with a smile!

Tom and his wife JoAnn spent many years of retirement making trips to their ‘heaven on earth’ home in Little Lake, Michigan, spending time with family and friends for many weeks each summer. It was also during these years, after the birth of his grandchildren, that he became the infamous “Papa”, known for always having a candy or treat in his front shirt pocket as well as a new special trinket to show them. Soon he was Papa to everyone, and whether it was while spending time at his cabin, at home in Shawnee, or visiting Colorado, any young person who knew Papa couldn’t wait to be part of the latest surprise toy or “Skittles party”. His granddaughters will forever treasure their trips to Michigan with Gaga and Papa and the many funny antics of their Papa and his trinkets. His grandsons will never forget opening the door of their Colorado home to find two fully dressed clowns, makeup and all—Gaga and Papa had arrived for Halloween. The giggles continued as Papa wore his Dracula teeth to Mass later that weekend.

Adult family and friends enjoyed the fun too, whether it be during annual trips to the horseraces, “Deer Camp”, or the famous annual 4th of July celebrations Tom and JoAnn hosted in Michigan- complete with an arsenal of impressive fireworks. They loved a weekend gathering for watching the Chiefs or the Royals, hours of card games, Michigan campfires with singing and roasting marshmallows, and they cherished their family Christmas Eve party every year. If you ever wanted to chat with Tom about horse racing or the art of grilling, you had better be ready to sit for a while.

Tom passed away exactly two weeks before the first anniversary of the death of his best friend and beloved wife, JoAnn, who died on September 15, 2024. His family knows without a doubt that Tom died of a broken heart, never recovering from the loss of the love of his life. He is also preceded in death by his parents, his brother Phillip “Kirk” Kirkwood (Joyce), his sister Karen “Kae” Vampola (Al), and his son Thomas “Tiger” Robert Jr.

Tom is survived by his daughters Catherine Smith (Scott), Christine Hamele (Scott), Valerie Brunk (Bill), sons Rick Brunk, Darrin Brunk (Emily), and brother Mike Kirkwood (Teri). He leaves nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, and an enormous extended family of his siblings’ spouses, nephews, nieces, and their families.

On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, a Visitation and Funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Shawnee, KS. Visitation begins at 9:30am with Mass at 10:00 am, followed by Tom’s burial at Oak Lawn Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church, 11505 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS 66203.