William E. Kirk Jr. (ED)

William "Ed" Kirk, Jr., 81, of Ellicott City, died Monday, 24 October after a brief illness. He was born in Baltimore on March 10, 1935 and grew up in Harford County. Ed Kirk graduated from the University of Baltimore with a B.S in Industrial Management. He studied Electrical Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University.

Ed Kirk retired on 31 December 1995 from the National Security Agency (NSA) after 35 years of Federal Service. At the time of his retirement, he was the Deputy Chief of Installation and Logistic (L) where he managed a 1300 person workforce responsible for all the logistics, facility maintenance, engineering and construction services at the Agency.

Previous positions included Deputy Director for the Office of Security (M5) for 11 years and Deputy Director of the Office of Contracting (L4) for 3 years. Mr. Kirk began his employment with NSA as a General Engineer within the Facilities Engineering Division (L5) in 1961. He served in various technical, program and line management positions with the Engineering and Installations Organization. His initial association with NSA began in 1958 when he was assigned to the Agency under contract as an RCA Antenna Design Consultant.

Mr. Kirk became a Charter Member of NSA's Senior Cryptologic Executive Service in 1982. During his time at NSA, he received both the NSA Meritorious Civilian Service Award and the Presidential Rank Meritorious Executive Award.

Ed was an avid Orioles and Dodgers fan. He also loved playing and coaching softball, most recently the Baltimore Beltway Senior Softball League. Ed loved his family, his friends, and his country.

He was the beloved husband of Joyce Kirk; Loving father of Kimberly Hess (Ken), Kristina Klockner (Dave) of NJ, Kerrie Beth Chamberlain (Todd) of AL, Maryann Spekis (Al), Frank Hainley, and Tracy Miciche (Gary); Dear brother of Sharon Dellinger (Marlin) of NV; Cherished grandfather of 17 and great-grandfather of 8; He was preceded in death by his first wife, Elizabeth “Bettye” Kirk, and by his daughter, Kandi Kirk.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit at the Witzke Funeral Homes, Inc., 5555 Twin Knolls Rd., Columbia, MD 21045 on Tuesday, November 1, 2016 from 2 to 4pm and 6 to 8pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, November 2, 2016, 11:00am, St. Paul Catholic Church, 3755 St. Paul St., Ellicott City, MD 21043. Interment private.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the www.cancer.org and/or to the www.woundedwarriorproject.org.