WILLIAM E. 'SPUD' KIRBY, 92, of 53 Sunnyside Drive, Dalton, recently died
peacefully at Kimball Farms Nursing Care Center in Lenox. Born in Lenox, March 15, 1916, a son of Robert P. and Mary Gorman Kirby,
he was educated in Lenox Schools and was a 1934 graduate of Lenox High School.
A World War II veteran, he enlisted in the United States Army on March 15,
1941, and served as a Sergeant with the Detachment Medical Department until his
discharge on December 2, 1945.
Mr. Kirby was employed by General Electric Company, both in Pittsfield and in Rome, Georgia. He retired as a Supervisor in 1978 with 38 years. He was a communicant of St. Agnes Church and a member of the Knights of
Columbus in Dalton. He was a member of the General Electric Quarter Century and
Pensioners Clubs, a member of the Dalton American Legion Post 155 and the Pittsfield
Elks Lodge 272. For the past twenty years, he had been a member of the Dalton Art
Guild where his greatest enjoyment was the more than 100 oil paintings he created over
the years. He enjoyed carpentry and during the 1950s, built his own home in Lenox. He
also enjoyed deer hunting.
Mr. Kirby's wife, the former Martha Rosnagle, whom he married May 16,
1946, in London, Ohio, died May 21, 1997.
He is survived by three sons, Timothy F. Kirby and his wife, Marguerite, of
Dalton, Dr. Craig R. Kirby and his wife, Patricia, of Lenox, and Christopher J. Kirby and
his wife, Kristen of Medway; five grandchildren, John of Norwood, Katherine of Lenox;
Matthew of Lenox, and Brendan of Medway, and Mellissa of Medway. He also leaves a
nephew, Raymond F. Kirby, Jr., of Lenox, and two-nieces, Mary MacCleod of Clinton,
New York, and Ann Hinman of Lenox.
He was pre-deceased by four brothers, Raymond F. Kirby, Sr., Joseph Kirby, Robert Kirby, James Kirby, and a sister, Mary Murphy.
Funeral services for WILLIAM E. 'SPUD' KIRBY will be held Monday,
September 15, at 9:l5 a.m., from DERY-FOLEY FUNERAL HOME with a Liturgy of
Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m., at St. Agnes Church celebrated by Rev. Christopher
A. Malatesta, Pastor. Burial will follow in St. Ann's Cemetery in Lenox. Calling
hours will be Sunday, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the Funeral Home. In lieu of
flowers, contributions in memory of Mr. Kirby may be made to Dalton Ambulance
and Rescue, HospiceCare in The Berkshires, or to St. Agnes Church Development
Fund, all in care of the Funeral Home, 890 East Main Street, Dalton.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of William E. Kirby, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.