Passed on Sunday, 28 April 2013
The Rev. Nevin Miller Kirk of Centerville, MA died Sunday evening, April 28, 2013 in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston. He was the husband of the late Elizabeth H. Kirk, who died in 1998. Rev. Kirk graduated from Franklin and Marshall College and Lancaster Seminary, both in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He began his career as a Navy chaplain in World War II aboard the aircraft carrier Bairoko in the Pacific. Following his Naval service he served as a minister in the United Church of Christ in churches in Philadelphia, PA; Allentown, PA; Westminster, MD; Springfield, MA; and Richmond Hill (Queens) NY.
Rev. Kirk was actively involved in the village community of Craigville, MA, on Cape Cod, where he summered annually since the early 1960s. He served the Craigville Conference Center in several capacities including director of social and recreational activities from 1962 through 1966. An active athlete and fine tennis player, he initiated the tennis program and was the instructor at the Craigville Tennis Club during those years and was co-chair of the Craigville Beach Association (CBA) Beach Committee for 15 years. For several years in the 1990s he served as co-chaplain of the Craigville Tabernacle. Of singular importance to him was his work as co-chair of the Red Lily Pond Project, a local environmental advocacy organization, where he was instrumental in developing, raising funds for and bringing to completion a visionary cluster septic system for 16 homes in Craigville.
Rev. Kirk leaves four children: John and his wife Artemis of Arlington, Virginia; Thomas of Palenville, NY; Mary of Washington, DC; and Philip of Centerville; and two grandchildren, Kimon and Athena Kirk. A memorial service for family and friends was held at South Congregational Church (UCC), 565 Main Street, Centerville, Massachusetts at 3:30pm on Saturday, May 4, 2013.
Rev. Kirk was actively involved in the village community of Craigville, MA, on Cape Cod, where he summered annually since the early 1960s. He served the Craigville Conference Center in several capacities including director of social and recreational activities from 1962 through 1966. An active athlete and fine tennis player, he initiated the tennis program and was the instructor at the Craigville Tennis Club during those years and was co-chair of the Craigville Beach Association (CBA) Beach Committee for 15 years. For several years in the 1990s he served as co-chaplain of the Craigville Tabernacle. Of singular importance to him was his work as co-chair of the Red Lily Pond Project, a local environmental advocacy organization, where he was instrumental in developing, raising funds for and bringing to completion a visionary cluster septic system for 16 homes in Craigville.
Rev. Kirk leaves four children: John and his wife Artemis of Arlington, Virginia; Thomas of Palenville, NY; Mary of Washington, DC; and Philip of Centerville; and two grandchildren, Kimon and Athena Kirk. A memorial service for family and friends was held at South Congregational Church (UCC), 565 Main Street, Centerville, Massachusetts at 3:30pm on Saturday, May 4, 2013.