Obituary of Richard Thomas Kirby

CHESHIRE- Richard Thomas Kirby, 83, passed away Tuesday, April 7, 2015 in the V.I.T.A.S unit of St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury. He was the loving husband of Rosemary (Eirich) Kirby. He was born March 9, 1932 in New Haven son of the late Daniel and Margaret (Gilbride) Kirby. Rich was a member of the United States Navy, where he served in the Korean War from 1951 to 1955, where he received the National Service Defense Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, Korean Service Medal, and United Nations Service Medal. Prior to his retirement, he was a lifelong member of IBEW Local 90 and worked on many construction projects as an Electrician. After he retired, he held the position of President of Local 90’s Retiree Association for more than 20 years with honor and distinction. Rich was a past Post Commander of the VFW Post 10052, member of the American Legion Post 0092, Sons of Union Veterans of Civil War, and Admiral Foote-Camp #17. Locally, he was well known as the founder of the Memorial Day Parade in Cheshire starting in 1968. In 2013, he was honored as Grand Marshal of the parade. Rich was a great father, husband, son, brother, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend. He had the incredible ability to connect with everyone he met and will be missed by all who knew him. He was an avid fan of the UCONN Women Basketball team, although he felt Geno was too mean to “his girls”. He loved vacationing with his wife and family, spending many happy days on Cape Cod and in Mexico. Rich had a love for animals and they loved him. His beloved greyhound Pride always held a special place in his heart. Richard is survived by his daughter Margaret and her husband Chris Devlin of Ashford; three sons, Thomas of Colchester, Patrick of Manchester, NH, and William Kirby of New London, OH; a brother Daniel and his wife Emma Kirby of Hamden; he is a Stepfather to Brian and his wife Grace Kirby of Hamden, Karen Selepec of Fairfield, MaryBeth and her husband Dave Goral of Meriden, Timothy and his wife Rebecca Kirby of Fayetteville, NC, and Amy and her husband Daniel Leonard of Cheshire; a Grandfather to Hannah, Michael, Richard, Joshua, Daniel, George, Alicia, Jonathan, Ryan, James, Flynn, and Tucker, and a Great-grandfather to Shamus, Kaleb, Thaine, and Jorden. He was predeceased by his first wife Dorothy (Remington) Kirby, and his four brothers Bernard, Edward, Francis, and John Kirby. Arrangements: A Mass of Christian Burial for Mr. Kirby will be held at 10 A.M, Saturday, April 18, 2015 at St. Bridget Church, 175 Main Street, Cheshire. Family and friends are asked to meet directly at church. Burial will follow in All Saints Cemetery, 700 Middletown Avenue, North Haven. There are no calling hours. The Alderson-Ford Funeral Home of Cheshire, 615 South Main Street is assisting with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to We Adopt Greyhounds, Inc. (WAG) www.weadoptgreyhounds.org Glastonbury, CT.