Clarence Edison Kirby

A memorial service celebrating the life of Clarence Edison Kirby will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at Pollard United Methodist Church, 3030 Copeland Road, Tyler, Texas. Officiating will be Rev. Richard Luna. Interment will follow at 12 noon at Henry’s Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery, Troup, Texas. The family will receive friends at Lloyd James Funeral Home on Friday, March 30 from 5-7 p.m. in Tyler, TX.

Clarence, known to friends as Kirby and to loved ones as Poppy, was born on September 21, 1929, to Clarence Percival and Clarese Olivia Roark Kirby in Waskom, Texas, and died on March 28, 2012, in Tyler, Texas. He graduated salutatorian from Waskom High School in Waskom and attended Kilgore Junior College. He also graduated from Centenary College in Shreveport, LA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering. Kirby served as a SP4 in the U.S. Army with the 653rd FAOB (Field Artillery Observation Battalion) during the Korean Conflict. He was employed by Halliburton Services for 32 years and was a District Superintendent of both the Perryton, TX and Pampa, TX districts, as well as District Manager of the Hays, Kansas district. Kirby was a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Petroleum Institute.

Kirby was an active member of Pollard United Methodist Church of Tyler.

In addition to his parents, Kirby was predeceased by his daughter- in-law, Patti Ebert Kirby.

Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 55 years, Patsy Aliece Henry Kirby; sons, Kevin Kirby (Kay Ellen) of Sherman, Texas; Butler Kirby of Ft. Worth, Texas; daughters, Aliece Brake (Al) of Houston, Texas; and Lynn Kuhn (Steve) of Pampa, Texas; grandson, Dustin Kuhn; and three granddaughters, Emily Kirby, Lauren Kirby, and Kirsten Kuhn.

If desired, memorials may be made to Henry’s Chapel United Methodist Church, 4387 FM 13E, Troup, Texas, 75789; Pollard United Methodist Church, 3030 Copeland Road, Tyler, Texas 75701; or UT Cockrell School of Engineering, Department of Petroleum Engineering, One University Station C2104, Austin, Texas 78712.