John Jude Kirby

May 7, 1953 – February 13, 2017

John Kirby, 63, passed away on February 13, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. He was born in Albany, New York, to Marion and John Kirby. John was greatly loved and survived by his wife, Cindy Canfield, his sisters Theresa Hodges, Barbara Kirby (Jim Fealey), Mary Beth Stabinski (Rick), his brother Bob Kirby, and many nieces and nephews.

John attended Blessed Sacrament Grade School and Vincentian Institute (high school) in Albany. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical and computer engineering at his beloved CCT, now known as Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. Until his retirement, John worked in engineering and engineering management at Hughes Aircraft, Tektronix, and most recently, Intel. A man of many talents, John was a lifelong church organist, the organist for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and the Portland Beavers baseball team, a television and radio color announcer for the Portland Winterhawks hockey team, and he wore many hats on sports television production crews, including the Portland Trail Blazers. After his retirement, John was also a sworn officer in the Portland Police Bureau Reserve Unit where he devoted hundreds of hours a year to the work. John enjoyed skydiving, motorcycling, running, and he was working on his swimming for triathlons. Much to Cindy’s chagrin, he never learned to cook.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, February 18, beginning with the recitation of the rosary at 10:30 a.m., at All Saints Parish, 3847 NE Glisan St., Portland, OR. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in John’s memory to the Portland Police Bureau Sunshine Division, sunshinedivision.org, or to the National Alliance on Mental Illness for Multnomah County, namimultnomah.org. Arrangements by Zeller Chapel of the Roses.