Henry Kirkwood Jr.

Born: August 2, 1915 in Glasgow, Scotland

Died: July 28, 2017 in Scottsdale, AZ

Henry Kirkwood AKA “Kirk”, came to the United States in 1925 entering through Ellis Island. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio singing with his buddies for pennies in local restaurants and clubs but at the age of 17 he set out to begin his true professional singing career working first at the Roxy Theatre in Cleveland. He needed a stage name so he split his last name in two and became Kirk Wood. He studied music at the Cleveland Institute of Music and later at Juilliard in NYC. He traveled all over as a vocalist for several bands including, Blue Baron’s Orchestra, Little Jack Little, Jan Garber, Alvino Rey and the King Sisters, and the Glen Miller Band after WWII when it was directed by Tex Beneke. His club appearances included Leon & Eddie’s and the Copacabana in NYC and the Golden Gate in San Francisco. He came home to Ohio and worked in radio singing commercials and performing on several shows. In 1946, he was among the first winners in the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts.

In 1953, he returned to Detroit leaving show business behind and entered the construction industry. There he met Carolyn and a year later they married. Once again, he gave show business a try but after their first child, Cyndy, was born he was convinced to settle down. They all moved to Arizona in 1958 where Kirk again entered the construction field. He worked for John F. Long and served a 3-yr apprenticeship to acquire a broker’s license. In 1960, their second child, Scot, was born. In 1964, Kirk teamed up with his brother-in-law, Herb Applegate. He served as a public relations representative and real estate and franchising agent for Herb’s new restaurant concept Hobo Joes. After successfully opening several restaurants in the Phoenix area, he opened a restaurant in Tucson and soon opened a second location in Tucson. During this time, their third child, Mary, was born and the family moved to Tucson. They remained in Tucson for 27 years, moving back to the Phoenix area in 2000. Kirk kept his fingers in the commercial real estate industry renewing his license even at the age of 99.

He was preceded in death by his sister Jean Newhall and brothers Jim and Malcolm Kirkwood. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Carolyn, his sister Mae Applegate Defiel, his 3 children and their spouses, Cyndy and Ted Pappas, Scot and Barrie Kirkwood, Mary and Mario Bertuccelli and his grandchildren, Caylee, Sean, Allie, Niki, Jackson, Taylor, Rico, and Mia.

A memorial service will be held at Green Acres Mortuary on Wednesday, August 2.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to:

Musicians Foundation

875 Sixth Avenue, Suite 2302

NY, NY 10001

or

Hospice of the Valley

1510 E. Flower St.

Phoenix AZ 85014