John F. Kirn

John Franklin Kirn was born January 5, 1937, in Houston Texas, to John Hans Kirn, a Hungarian immigrant chiropractor, and Eva Fern Miller Kirn, who had been a missionary to Brazil before marriage, then taught school. His father died when he was 2, so he learned his faith from his mother and her sister, Loretta (May) Miller. Graduating from Houston’s Hamilton High School in 1955, he followed his mother’s wishes and went to Baylor University, intending to become a pastor, but that wasn’t his calling. Though he had a triple major in religion, history, and drama, our Creator had other plans, including the girl he married. He met her in a drama class. Carol Kearns sat two seats down as they were seated in alphabetical order. Carol’s brother, Jerry, described sitting between them and being disgusted with the starry-eyed lovers talking across him. After they both graduated from Baylor - John in ’59 and Carol in ’62, and after John’s two-year stint in the army, they married in August, 1962.

A committed believer in Christ, John trusted that The Spirit used his career with Sears to put him where he was needed. That started in Pasadena TX, then Galveston/League City, then moved to North Houston, shifted to Shreveport, Louisiana, then Jackson, Mississippi, where he was tapped to run the credit processing division of the newly fledged Discover Card. From Jackson they moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1985, where he remained until he retired in 2004, only to find his next calling as interim president of Northern Seminary in Chicago, from which he received an honorary doctorate in 2008. All along the way, everywhere John went, he taught Sunday school, led bible studies, and became active in leadership of whichever Baptist church the family joined as well as the Emaus community in Columbus, Ohio.

A God-gifted, creative artist from an early age (despite having only one good eye), he taught himself to paint in oil, acrylic, and watercolor. Beyond all his work and responsibilities, he found ways to express himself. As a dramatist in college, he wrote a one-act play called The Cell, published by Broadman Press, about Christians suffering under Roman persecution. His later paintings of seascapes, wooden ships, woodlands, and portraits stand as testament to his imagination. Family homes are decorated in beautiful and thought-provoking pieces, not only in painting but also stained glass. His creative gifts were, however, curtailed too soon. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s, control of his body faded while his mind remained mostly active, right up until the end. At the age of 87, on Sunday, March 17, 2024, he shed his enfeebled body and stepped through the veil into the embrace of the Son.

John is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years, Carol, of Westerville, Ohio; brother Paul Kirn and wife Lorraine of Bluffton, South Carolina; son Joel and wife Terri of San Antonio, Texas; daughter Kiersten Jung and husband Peter of Clermont County, Ohio; daughter Eryka Kirn MacKenzie and husband David of Albuquerque, New Mexico; four grandchildren: Brian Kirn, Erin Kirn Halla and husband Joseph, Jacob Jung, and Susannah (Sunny) Jung Grau and husband Doug. His first great grandchild, James Franklin Halla, is expected in September.

Services will be at Karl Road Baptist Church, Columbus OH, on Saturday, April 6th at 2pm.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Northern Seminary or Samaritan’s Purse.