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William Denson Kirby Jr.
was born in Selma,
AL, an only child. When he was four years old, Bill’s family moved
to Montgomery, AL, where he graduated from Lanier High School. He
then entered Marion Military Institute, Marion, AL, for further
education, from where he was accepted into West Point with the Class
of 1954. We remember Bill in company C-l as a man with a positive
outlook and a helping hand in any situation. He engaged in friendly
combat with the West Point educational system over his four years,
winning all the battles while maintaining his sense of humor,
positive attitude, and engaging smile. On one of his trips home for
Christmas leave, he met a lovely young lady named Mary Polk, a
Temple University student from Jackson, MS. They were married in the
Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge, PA, on Jun 10, 1954,
only a few days after Bill graduated from West Point as an Infantry
lieutenant. His subsequent military years were to be filled with
transfers and new duty stations.
Bill headed for
his first assignment, BIOC, at Fort Benning, where daughter Ellen
was born in 1955. In 1956 Bill was accepted to flight school at
Spence AFB and then Fort Rucker, AL, to complete fixed wing
training. Upon completion he was assigned to the Army Aviation
School at Ft. Rucker, where their second daughter, Mara, was born.
While in Ft. Rucker, Bill transferred to the Transportation Corps.
In 1958 Bill was assigned to helicopter school in Mineral Wells, TX.
From there he went to transportation school at Ft. Eustis, VA, and
then to graduate school at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg.
After Virginia Tech, he received orders to the 55th Army Aviation
Company in Korea for a tour of duty in 1961-62. Returning from Korea
in 1962, he was assigned to Fort Rucker as a member of the Army
Aviation Test Board from 1962 to 1964 and also was promoted to the
rank of captain during that time.
His next duty
station was in Managua, Nicaragua, where he served with the 937th
Engineering Company from 1964 to 1966. During this time he and other
West Pointers would gather for social occasions when possible. On
one occasion they planned an Army-Navy lunch to listen to the
Army-Navy football game at Bill's quarters. They had sent an
invitation to General Somoza, a graduate of West Point who was the
commanding General of the Nicaraguan Army at the time, to join them
for the occasion, and surprisingly he did. Although Navy won, a good
time was had by all. Subsequently Bill was transferred again, this
time for a brief tour in the Panama Canal Zone in 1966, for what
became his final tour of active duty. Bill’s father died in 1966,
perhaps affecting Bill’s decision to consider resigning. He and his
family had moved 13 times in 12 years.
Bill resigned in
1967 to enter civilian life in Jackson, MS, joining the South
Central Bell Telephone Company, then one of the regional Bell
systems of AT&T, as an engineer. Progressing in his new career, he
became a supervisor in 1970, then later a real estate manager,
responsible for planning and coordinating the company’s real estate
properties in Mississippi. He worked for 23 years in various roles
for the AT&T network, but enjoyed most of all his work as the real
estate manager for the South Central Bell/Bell South company’s
Mississippi operations. In 1970 their son, William Denson Kirby III,
was born. He retired from Bell in 1991, and later he and Mary moved
to Madison, MS, one of the suburbs of Jackson.
The family was
with him at Fort Benning, Fort Rucker, in Nicaragua, and in the
Canal Zone. As with most military families, they learned a lot from
their travels but were happiest when they could return to the United
States. His older daughter Ellen now lives in Florida with her
husband Norm Shannahan. His younger daughter Mara also resides in
Madison, and his son Denson lives in Kentucky with his wife Brandi.
Bill’s life as a
civilian, aside from work in the telephone company, was a pleasant
combination of hobbies, church, and civic activities and clubs. He
was a member of the West Point Society of Mississippi and was
treasurer of the Jackson Touchdown Club for several years. He loved
giving the weekly report on Army’s football games to the Club. He
belonged to the Institute of Real Estate Management and became a
real estate broker to stay current with all of his real estate
responsibilities. He and Mary were members of the Briarwood
Presbyterian Church in Jackson. Bill loved working on cars, keeping
them in top shape and good running condition. He also taught driver
education courses for many years with AARP. He was the consummate
Southern gentleman, always ready for an engaging conversation about
the Civil War or a discussion of Southern history.
Bill had lost one
kidney to cancer in 1991, leading to his retirement from Bell South.
Mary recalls that cancer was found in the other kidney on Father’s
Day in 2010, requiring removal of this kidney also. Bill was on
dialysis for over a year before he passed away at the age of 80 on
Oct 24, 2011, at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, MS.
He was interred at Parkview Cemetery in Madison, MS, on Oct 27,
2011. May he rest in peace, having lived the good life and having
fought the good fight.
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