Birth Oct. 18, 1949
North Adams, MA
Death Dec. 4, 2024
Bennington, VT
Details of service
A service will be held in Bennington at a future date to be announced. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the ACLU in his honor.
Kevin Kirkpatrick, 75, of Burlington, Irasburg, and Bennington passed away on December 4th at the Vermont Veterans Home in Bennington.
Kevin was born on Oct. 18, 1949 in North Adams, MA to Mary Allison (Beattie) Kirkpatrick and Ray B. Kirkpatrick. He grew up with his elder sister, Suzanne, and younger brother, Bowden. Kevin’s earliest years were spent in Pittsfield, MA where he lived in a 150 year old house on the many acres his grandfather had bought to build his business and his own new house. Kevin spent many hours exploring the property from the edge of the Housatonic River to the railroad trestle, and into several of the outbuildings on the property. He was a curious boy, and his ramblings often got him into trouble with his mother.
The adventures and explorations ended when his father went to work for General Electric. His father’s work began in Pittsfield, but that led to his traveling around the country, from Syracuse to Oklahoma City to Burlington to St. Louis. Kevin graduated from high school in St. Louis and began his higher education at a junior college there. He later went to Vermont Tech for a while. He finally moved back to Burlington, his favorite city growing up, to work with his brother in their car repair business. That was the start of his many jobs as a mechanic, some with car dealerships, some with private companies, and even in his own company.
Kevin was drafted to serve during the Vietnam war in 1970. He applied for and was denied Conscientious Objector status and evaded service as long as possible. He was eventually picked up in his home by the FBI and chose to go into the army rather than to jail. He served his time during the Vietnam War in Germany as a clerk and received an honorable discharge in 1972. This was a story he was quite proud of and loved to share.
In 1979 he met Karen Powers and they began dating in 1980 until they were married in July of 1982. In 1983 they welcomed their first daughter, Erin, and in March of 1987 they welcomed their second, Kelly.
Kevin had a lifelong passion for photography, and despite being color blind, loved editing and playing with the saturation of color in the photos. He built a darkroom in the basement of his home in Burlington where he could develop his own photography. He had many other artistic hobbies throughout his life.
Kevin was also passionate about helping people and animals in need. He once invited a coworker to come stay with his family while his friend was struggling, and helped him find and move into an apartment. Kevin was also known to bring home stray dogs and one, Beta, became the family dog. There were even a pair of baby squirrels he brought home to nurse back to health.
Kevin is survived by his daughter Erin Kirkpatrick Ransom and her husband Drew of Burlington, daughter Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick and her partners Luis Medina-Lopez and Nicole Fiori, sister Suzanne Kirkpatrick and brother Bowden of Bennington, niece Linn Kirkpatrick of Reno, NV, nephew Sam Kirkpatrick of Melbourne, Australia, Karen Powers of Burlington who is the mother of his two daughters, and his beloved cat Cyrus. He was predeceased by his parents Mary and Ray Kirkpatrick, and companion Steffi Heuss.
Kevin’s family wants to thank all of the workers at The Vermont Veterans Home for providing a home where Kevin could finally relax and rest. Everyone there from the aides to the doctors surrounded him with loving care. He died in peace.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Kevin Kirkpatrick.