John H. Kirk, 58
John H. Kirk, 58, of Moyie Springs, Idaho, died Dec. 25, 2007, at Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene after complications from heart surgery.
Kirk was born Feb. 12, 1949, in Rockland, Maine. He was the oldest son of Richard and Frances Kirk.
As a youth Kirk loved baseball and pool. He was a Boy Scout in Troop 216 and an altar boy at the St. Bernard's Parish. Kirk worked during the summer raking blueberries, and when he was older, as a busboy at the Rockland Hotel.
He graduated from Rockland District High School in 1967. He served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps as an M.P., including a tour in Vietnam from 1968-69.
In 1971, he married Jane Oldroyd. They had one daughter, Johnna. Jane died in 1975. During this tragedy, he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.
Kirk remarried thereafter to Bernadette Dinsmore. Together they raised five additional children.
He worked at the Dragon Products Cement Plant in Thomaston, Maine, until 1982. While living in Thomaston, Kirk built his first home, an A-frame, which would be the beginning of his construction career.
Moving to Moyie Springs in 1983, he ran his own business specializing in residential construction. Kirk built and worked on numerous homes throughout northern Idaho and Washington. He was noted as being a hard and industrious worker who was gifted in the construction arts of plumbing, electrical and carpentry. Kirk was handy with a backhoe and enjoyed running any kind of machinery, especially his tractor.
He was a simply spoken man not given to a lot of fancy words, but Kirk loved the Lord and shared that love with anyone who would listen.
He was an avid motorcyclist and loved road tripping on his Harley Davidson. Kirk also enjoyed boating on Lake Pend Oreille. He loved his family and will be greatly missed by them and his friends.
Survivors include his wife Bernadette of 32 years; sons Joshua Kirk stationed in Afghanistan, and Josiah Kirk of Bonners Ferry; daughters Johnna Sohner, of Boca Rotan, Fla., Jessica Tingley of Newport News, Va., Jennifer and Jocelyn Kirk of Bonners Ferry; sister Peggy Rogers; mother Frances Drinkwater of Rockport, Maine; grandchildren, Mark Tingley, Janey, Ben and John Sohner, Jimmy Solt, and Kensington Kirk.
Friends may call and pay last respects from noon until 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008, at the Bonners Ferry Funeral Home.
Funeral services, officiated by Ben Dinsmore, will be held Friday, Jan. 4, at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church followed by Internment at Grandview Cemetery.
Funeral services are under the direction of Bonners Ferry Funeral Home.