Obituary of Curtis Morgan Kirk
Curtis Morgan Kirk, 72, of Franklin County, Kentucky, died July 23, 2022. Covid quickly and mercifully ended his years-long struggle with Lewy Body Dementia with Parkinson’s.
Born August 16, 1950, in Franklin County to Edward Franklin Kirk and Dorothy Lorraine Botkins Kirk, he grew up in Bridgeport helping his father farm, which included managing the historic Julian Farm. In 1982 Curtis won the Frankfort Jaycees’ Outstanding Young Farmer award. After marrying, he bought land on Harp Pike in Bald Knob, where he lived with his family and farmed 400 acres for many years.
Curtis’ concern for the issues farmers faced led him to leadership positions in Kentucky agriculture. With the Kentucky Division of Conservation, he worked with farmers on the Conservation District board in each Kentucky county, and coordinated the equipment loan and infrastructure loan programs, which offered support to help farmers in their conservation efforts
Curtis was the first chairman of the Franklin County Agriculture Development Board, which distributed the Tobacco Settlement money that funded the Franklin County Farmers’ Market pavilion and has aided farmers in moving away from a tobacco-based economy. He served on the county Farm Bureau board for 13 years. One of his proudest accomplishments was his work on the Kentucky Agriculture Water Quality Act, which ensures farmers protect the water resources on their land from livestock and other agricultural pollutants.
Curtis’ proudest accomplishment in his private life was being father to his three daughters, Melinda Ann Kirk, Ashley Morgan Kirk, and Kathrynn “Katie” Lorraine Kirk Hall (Matt). He is also survived by his wife, Julie Brumback (Smither) Kirk, stepson Jeremy Lee Smither, his sister Marsha Lane Kirk, granddaughter Shelby Hodge Johnson (Nick), grandson Kash Alexander Stanley, great-granddaughter Roland Blake Johnson, step-granddaughter Lauren Ann Smither, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers Barry Lynn Kirk and James “Jimmy” Edward Kirk.
A Gathering of Family and Friends will be held 2 pm on Sunday, August 21, 2022, at Clark Legacy Center on Versailles Road, Frankfort, followed by a “Remembrance” of Curtis Kirk’s Life.
