James Lee Kirk
February 19, 1951 – November 20, 2021

James Lee Kirk of Piercy went home to be with his heavenly loved ones on Saturday, November 20, 2021.

A truck driver for most of his adult life, James made many friends along his routes. Everyone that ever met him would tell you the same thing, that he loved to laugh and would give you the shirt off his back if he thought it would help you. His laugh, so infectious at times that you’d have a hard time catching your breath while tears run down your face. Some of his favorite hobbies included fishing, camping, running, acting, and martial arts. Back in the fall of 1973 he and his wife Betty took their first Jujitsu class with Sensei Dave Cook. From that point on, James was hooked, and would take classes every chance he got. He spent many years at the Jobu Shin Kan Jujitsu studio in Eureka, learning under a couple of different Sensei’s, Dennis and Jon come to mind. Before James had to stop attending, he had achieved the highest level of Brown Belt and was studying to test for Black. He was so proud of this achievement, and we were all very proud of him.

James was an avid runner for many years. He ran in the San Francisco Marathon on July 8, 2001, raising money for the Leukemia Society. He also ran the Avenue of the Giants Marathon several times throughout the years. One of his favorite venues was the Clam Beach Run up in Trinidad.

James and his wife shared a love of the arts. They took classes together at C.R. for several years. He enjoyed sculpting and drawing, while she enjoyed painting and drawing in different mediums. James also took acting classes, and landed a supporting role in one of C.R.’s annual plays in the 90s. In his twenties, he would “play” up at Lazy L Ranch in Arcata. There was an Old West town where he was a stuntman, and they would do shootouts and get to be cowboys in the old prop buildings that were set up there.

James was adamant that he was born before the famous Cpt. James T. Kirk from Star Trek, and I can remember pretty much any time I would introduce him to anyone, the first thing out of their mouth was “Any relation to?”. It was always a great way to break the ice, and conversations would seem to just flow from there.

James was a fun, loving, devoted son, husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend. He is survived by his wife Betty Kirk, daughter Sarah Cardoza and her husband Andrew, grandson Romello Kress, sister Evelyn Gustafson and her husband Brian, brother Robert Kirk and his wife Pamela, brother John Kirk and his wife Kathy. He is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, bonus grandkids and great grands. James was preceded in death by his parents Charles and DaraLee Kirk.

We will be reaching out with plans for a celebration of life to be held in the Spring of 2022.

The family requests that donations made in memory of James go to The American Heart Association.