Mr Nicholas Kirk

Kirk, Nicholas, 95, passed peacefully in the calm of his family and beauty of the mountains on Thursday, January 12, 2012. He is survived by his loving daughter, Marianne Newland, son, Ron Kirk, grandson, David Newland, and Great grandchild, Deborah Newland.

On Easter Sunday in 1984, Nick and his gracious wife Helen, moved into their home on Lookout Mountain to join their family in Colorado after living in New Jersey for many years. Nick was married to his beloved wife Helen for 61 years until she passed quietly in 2002. Both lived life to the fullest by spending time in the mountains above Golden, walking high ridges along the Continental Divide, and spending time with family and friends. Sunday mornings were dedicated to services at the Mother Cabrini Shrine when on Easter and other holidays, Nick and Helen would make the long ascent up the winding steps to Mother Cabrini.

Professionally, Nick was a photo development analyst for the Du Pont De Nemours Company in Parlin, New Jersey. As the economy slowed in 1929 and took some years to recover, Nick graduated Highschool in 1933 and loved to write. Jobs were scarce but Nick wrote a letter to a friend of his dad who at the time was a plant manager at Du Pont. Nick was hired shortly afterwards and began to expand his talents as a photographer by working for Du Pont as a photo development analyst. At Du Pont, Nick worked with photos that would soon first appear in the spectrum of black and white photography in Life Magazine and National Geographic.

In 1941, Nick married his beloved wife Helen and in 1943, was enlisted in the Army of the United States. In the Army, he worked as a munitions expert and a carpenter. As he concluded his Army service as a World War II Veteran in 1946, Nick was awarded the American Service World War II Victory Medal.

On the home-front, Nick was a self-taught economist, financial analyst, and carpenter. He was an avid reader who encouraged education for his children. Since the 1940s, he tracked price changes for personal goods and services and monitored the emerging financial markets. Over the years, Nick acquired considerable knowledge of the financial and banking sectors. In addition, he built his first home by hand in the 1940s in Perth Amboy, New Jersey with money he saved while in the Army. After the home was finished, Porter Cable patented the first power circular saw.

As a person who advocated good health and exercise, Nick excelled as a weight-lifter, bowler, and mountain enthusiast. He climbed all of the White Mountains in New England including Mt. Washington in New Hampshire where he made over 50 ascents. In Colorado at the age of nearly 70, he climbed a number of 14,000-foot peaks. While in New Jersey, Nick pioneered several rock climbing routes at the Delaware Water Gap. In Colorado, Nick climbed several routes in Eldorado Canyon.

At age 90, Nick read his last 600-plus page book in less than two days: Walter Isaacson's biography of Albert Einstein. Afterwards, on a Sunday night when the family would convene for the weekly evening dinner, over a Guinness, he talked about the highlights of Einstein's life and the value of knowledge.

Nick will be remembered as a loving husband and great dad who taught us a lot about what was realy important in life. Nick will be greatly missed.

The family will be honoring Nick on January 18th at 10:00 a.m. at the Mother Cabrini Shrine in the Main Sanctuary located at 20189 Cabrini Blvd., Golden, Colorado 80401 (off Highway 40 near Lookout Mountain Road). A brief graveside tribute will follow at the Mount Lindo Memorial Park.