Leiyah Nicole Kirkland

Leiyah Nicole Kirkland, age 24, of Bay Point, California passed away on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. She was born on April 14, 1997, in Oakland, CA, to the proud parents of Spring Laverne Daughtry and Michael Tyrone Kirkland. She was the only child born to her parents, and the apple of their lives.

Leiyah began her education at Martin Luther King in Richmond, CA, and graduated from Hercules High School in 2015. She furthered her education at both Contra Costa College, as well as, Merritt Jr. College in Oakland, CA.

Lay-Lay, as she was affectionately called, had her own style and walked to the beat of her own drum. She had a mindset of doing things, “Leiyah’s way.” Upon her first doctor’s visit, his observation was that “she is going to do exactly what she wants to,” and that’s exactly what she did.

Throughout her life, Leiyah enjoyed a variety of activities which included swimming, dancing, baseball, and playing the piano and she even attempted to learn to play bass along with her father.

Leiyah loved helping people and was especially fond of feeding the homeless. She would not allow any leftovers to be thrown away and would literally ride around until she found someone, to give the food to instead of, allowing it, to go to waste.

Leiyah was truly fond of her grandmother and also, adored her cousins. She had a beautiful smile and loved showing off her pearly whites. She loved working her magical makeup demonstrations on people and creating jewelry. Leiyah was indeed a creative genius.

Leiyah leaves to cherish her memory: her mother, Spring Laverne Daughtry, and father, Michael Tyrone Kirkland.; grandmother, Earnestine Hickman; maternal aunts, Trudy Bartlow, and Joan (John) Daughtry-Scott; uncles, Donald (Rhyma) Hickman and Andrew (Brenda) Daughtry; fraternal aunts, Mary Helen Kirkland, Frankie Henderson, and Retta (Jim) Kirkland Zeigler; uncles, Ronald Henderson, Bernard Henderson, and Kenneth Kirkland, and a host of cousins and friends from all around the Bay Area.

A public viewing for Leiyah will be held Monday, May 2, 2022 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Fuller Funerals, Inc, 3100 Cutting Blvd, Richmond, CA 94804. A a celebration of her life will occur Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at 1:00 PM at Fuller Funerals, Inc.