Richard Spencer Kirk's Obituary
Richard Spencer Kirk, age 94, quietly passed away in his sleep on August 24, 2023, at UVRMC following a brief illness.
Richard was born on June 1, 1929 to Spencer and Opal Cluff in Heber, Utah as their second child following approximately two and a half years behind his older sister Nortica. His birth mother died shortly thereafter. He was then adopted by Lawrence and Martha Kirk. His birth father later married Nina Porter and they blessed Richard with seven additional siblings. His birth father always kept in touch with Richard as his uncle for many years. Eventually, when he was older, he was told the true relationship.
Richard was preceded in death by both his birth and adoptive parents, brother Marion (Dawna) Cluff, sister Nortica (Norman) Barker, brother Jerry (Linda) Cluff. He is survived by his wife, Joye; son Lee (April) Kirk; grandchildren: Shalauna, Jaron, and Emilee. siblings: Nelda (Dale) Cazier, Jack (Beverly) Cluff, Seloma (Lynn) Porter Ron (Alicia) Cluff, Karla (Lynn) Sorensen.
Richard served a religious mission (1950-1952) for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Great Lake Mission which included Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. After getting home from his mission he served in the Army (1952-1954). He served in Korea as a cook with the 45th Infantry Division and 145 Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. He was awarded an Army Commendation medal for his many volunteer missions to cross into unsecured areas and climb to the tops of mountains to deliver special hot meals to front line mountain lookouts. After returning from his military service, Richard met the love of his life Joye Hullinger; they were married February 28, 1957, in the Salt Lake Temple. Eventually their son Lee joined them.
Growing up on the farm, Richard learned the value of hard work at a young age. Anyone that knew Richard knew how hard he worked. Over the years, he had many jobs. He worked at Hill Air force Base receiving, packing, warehousing, and shipping aircraft parts. The love of cooking that he gained while in the Army led him to build a small café with his adoptive father which he briefly operated as Dick’s Drive-In. He drove dump trucks and cement trucks to construction sites including the concrete for the rebuild of the BYU Herald B Lee Library in 1957. He worked at Geneva Steel as a diesel locomotive fireman. He then worked for the Quality Linen Towel Supply Company for 37 years delivering linen, uniforms, and towels. After retiring he went to work for Diamonds Greenhouse with his brother Jerry Cluff in Springville planting decorative flowerpots until he was 90 years old.
The quote “You can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy” very much applied to both Richard and his wife Joye. They always utilized every bit of land available to them to grow whatever they could. For a brief time, they even raised chickens in a small backyard coop. He grew far more than his wife Joye could cook, bottle, freeze, or dry so he would attempt to sell or give away whatever was left over as he made his rounds for Quality Linen. There were times when Richard and Joye could prepare an entire well-balanced meal just from what they raised or grew in their own back yard.
He loved to camp, travel, and take vacations with both his immediate and extended family.
A grave side memorial service will be held at 6:00 p.m. on August 30 in the North-West corner of the Provo City Cemetery near 600 S. 600 E. Flowers are unnecessary but can be brought directly to the cemetery at the time of the service or delivered to the family ahead of time.
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