"I first met Mr. Kirk in March of 1955. I had transferred to Quincy Senior High School from Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri. The mathematics curriculum at Hickman included a full year of advanced algebra. At QHS, there was no full year of advanced algebra and so Mr. Brockman (Principal) advised me into Trigonometry with Mr. Kirk. This was a senior class and I was only a junior. And the course was six weeks ahead of me. I was able to finish it with a grade of B. At this point in my life and because of his excellent style of teaching, I decided to become a teacher of mathematics. So I repeated the trigonometry course (to the amazement of my advisor) just to get an A grade but most importantly observe his teaching style very carefully. I did get the A grade. In 1961, I graduated from Quincy College with a B.S. degree in mathematics. In 1964, I was granted a master's degree from the University of Montana in Missoula. During that time I was teaching mathematics at Springfield High School in Springfield, IL I began to teach calculus at SHS in 1968 and did so until I retired in 1993. At the Univ. of Montana, I also completed all the course work for a Ph.D. My teaching style was stolen from Mr. Kirk. He was the absolute best mathematics teacher ever! I owe so much to him and I pray for him daily. May God give us more teachers and people like him. Also, I was able to do my student teaching for him in Spring of 1961. And he is surely missed and remembered fondly by many who had the opportunity to know him and be touched by him."
In loving memory of
Houston Kirk
August 6, 2002
Houston Kirk, 79, a former Quincyan, died at 8:35 pm on Tuesday, August 6, at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, FL, after a brief bout with pneumonia. Born on June 25, 1923 in Kennett, MO, he was the only child of Thomas and Vivian Williams Kirk.
Houston spent most of his youth in St. Louis, where he was graduated in 1940 with honors from Beaumont High School. He received a scholarship to Washington University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1947. His undergraduate studies were interrupted during WWII by a three-year service as a meteorologist in the Army Air Corps. Houston earned his Master's degree in education at the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1948. He pursued additional post-graduate studies during summer sessions at Columbia University, Knox College, Colorado College and extension work from Western Illinois University.
After teaching one year at the Tenney School in Texas, Houston moved to Quincy in the fall of 1949,when he joined the Quincy High School faculty as a mathematics teacher. He introduced calculus into the QHS curriculum. Mr. Kirk was also one of the first teachers in Illinois to interpret the "new math" to elementary teachers through workshops. Houston was chairman of the QHS math department from 1958-61 and again from 1967-70. During the 1963-64 school year, he served as president of the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Houston was selected by the National Council to participate in leadership conferences in Chicago and Detroit, stimulating teachers to upgrade their training. In 1970, Mr Kirk was named "outstanding teacher" in Quincy . A year later, he received the T. E. Rine award for superior teaching and professional service in mathematics. Houston enjoyed his teaching career tremendously, fostering an excellent rapport with both students and colleagues. He derived great satisfaction from his students' accomplishments.
At a pre-school conference in 1949, Houston met Carolyn Eakle, a junior high school teacher. On June 8, 1951, Houston and Carolyn were married and in 1960, they had a son Carson, who survives. Mr. Kirk had a wonderful relationship with his Quincy in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. Carson Eakle and Beulah Gooch.
Shortly after Houston's resignation in 1972, the family moved to South Florida, where his mother and step-father had retired. Mr. Kirk served on the Board of Advisors at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, where Carson attended and swam competitively. In 1978, Houston and Carolyn were divorced, but always remained very dear friends.
An avid Cardinal fan, one of Houston's big thrills was attending Game 7 of the 1946 World Series, when Enos Slaughter's famous "mad dash" won the series for the Cards. Houston and Carson spent many enjoyable hours following their Redbirds. Over the last few years, Houston served as vice-president of the Kirk Family Foundation, which is geared toward enhancing educational, musical, religious and/or humanitarian pursuits. Carolyn is secretary/treasurer for this organization, and Carson is the president. The foundation was made possible by Carson's grandmother, Dena Eakle.
Memorials for Houston may be given to the Kirk Family Foundation, in care of Carson Kirk, 2106 S. Cypress Bend Dr., #507, Pompano Beach, FL. 33069 (Tel. #954- 975- 7914)
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Hansen-Spear in Quincy. Visitation will take place Monday, August 12, from 4 to 6 PM at the funeral home. Hansen-Spear will also conduct the service on Tuesday, August 13, at 11 A.M. with Scott Walden officiating. Interment will follow at Greenmount Cemetery.
Tributes
"I was sorry to read today of Houston Kirk's passing, and would like to express my sincere condolences to his family. I was a calculus student of Mr. Kirk at QHS in 1971-72, the last year that he taught school. I was privileged to enjoy instruction from many fine professors at DePauw University, where I received a B.A. in philosophy in 1976, and at the University of Chicago Law School, where I received a J.D. in 1979. Many of these instructors were brilliant in their field, outstanding as teachers, blessed with tremendous intellect, and of national or even international renown. However, I always considered Mr. Kirk to be the finest teacher I ever had. His ability to explain and teach mathematics was simply phenomenal. But it was much more than that. His relaxed, charming manner of delivery - while breaking the thorniest problems down into manageable, logical bites, that led inexorably to the correct solution - made learning math a joyous experience (even calculus to 16-year-olds!) and inspired confidence in all his students. And he was remarkably, unfailing polite and patient, kind, gracious, and a true gentleman in every sense of the word. In a world in which there are, and have been, many, many math teachers, there has only ever been one Houston Kirk. My sister, Therese Bersin (now Therese Cummings), QHS class of '63, who also later taught math at QHS while Houston was chairman of the department, and then at various colleges in the Chicago area, likewise shares my view that he was the finest teacher - in any subject and at any level of instruction - that she has ever known. And I am sure that many, many of his students over the years, if polled, would say the same. We were all blessed to have known him - both as a man and an educator. It is the most extraordinary, and rare, sort of person, who - just like Mr. Chips - can inspire such admiration, affection, and devotion, year after year, class after class, a teacher of academics nonpareil, yet also of character and civility in the process."