Robert "Bob" J. Shirk Jr.

Robert “Bob” J. Shirk Jr. of Independence, MO passed away peacefully on March 25, 2024 at home with his family. Bob is preceded in death by his parents Robert J. Shirk Sr and Helen Y. Shirk. Bob is succeeded in life by his wife Irma S. Shirk, their son Kyle A. Shirk (Rachel Shirk) and granddaughter Reagan E. Shirk. He is also succeeded by his sister Patricia Whetstone of Albuquerque, NM.

Born in Independence, MO on January 31, 1946, he lived in Independence for most of his life. His military service from 1965 to 1968 took him from Independence, to Fort Bragg, NC where he served during the Vietnam War as a Personnel Management Specialist. After his service, Bob lived in Arizona with his sister and her family, where he attended Durham College and received a diploma for Architectural Drafting in 1971. His next move brought him back to Independence for work and to be near his parents. In 1984, graduated from Ottawa University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Construction Management. He worked for The Austin Company before starting his own firm, Specialty Building Consultants (SBC) Architects, where he continued to work on building projects up until a few months before his death.

Bob married Sue, the love of his life, on May 19, 1979 and together celebrated 44 years of marriage. Together, they devoted much of their free time to the Boy Scouts of America where they were members of Troop 161 and Troop 229, both of Independence, MO. Bob’s love of the outdoors was a natural draw for him to join Scouting as an adult and he attended several sessions of scout camp at Osceola, MO, and a high-adventure excursion to the boundary waters of Minnesota. Bob and Sue were very proud of all the scouts they watched grow into young men and women. Dressed in his Class A uniform, Bob attended his last scout meeting on December 9, 2023 where the scouts of his troop brought the meeting to his then skilled nursing facility just so he could attend.

Bob enjoyed hunting and fishing with his friends, teaching Kyle to enjoy the same. Bob and Kyle hunted upland game and whitetail deer in Missouri and fished striped bass in Arkansas, brown and rainbow trout in Colorado, walleye in South Dakota, and chinook salmon and halibut off the shores of Alaska.

Bob adored his granddaughter, Reagan. He was there for her first steps and posed as her first photo with Santa Claus. When he was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, he vowed to fight it long enough to make it to her second birthday and second Christmas. Even at her young age, she knows that Papa “went to live with Jesus” and his memory will live in her heart.

A graveside service with full military honors will be held Thursday, March 28, 2024 from 2:00 to 2:30 PM at Mount Moriah Cemetery South, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO 64131. Following the graveside service, the family will be hosting an ice cream social in his honor.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Bob’s memory may be made to Scout Troop 229 chartered by First Christian Church at 125 S. Pleasant Street, Independence, MO 64050.