Gordon Dean Kirk was born September 20, 1934 in Greybull, Wyoming, to Thomas Alexander Kirk and Dorothy Elizabeth Young Kirk. He died Friday, June 6, 2026 at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 91. Gordon was raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1956 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. Upon graduation, he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Martha Smith on June 9, 1956.

He began his career at DuPont de Nemours in South Carolina as a Chemical Engineer with Q Clearance working on a Department of Energy nuclear reservation. He joined Sunray DX Oil Company at the Tulsa refinery in 1958 as a Process Engineer and served in a variety of engineering and operational positions until the merger of Sunray DX and Sun Oil in 1968 when he was appointed Manager of Product Planning in Philadelphia. In 1971 he became Manager of Sun's refinery in Duncan, Oklahoma. He was selected by Sun to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Sloan Fellow, receiving a Master's degree in Management in 1975. He progressed through several management positions: Executive Vice President then President of Sun Pipe Line Company, President of Sun Petroleum Products Company, and Vice President of Operations for Sun Refining and Marketing Company. He retired as Executive Vice President of Sun Refining and Marketing in 1988. Two of the proudest moments in his career included being invited to consult with President Ronald Raegan on our nation's global energy policy and receiving the Notre Dame College of Engineering's Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award for exceptional professional achievement and service to the engineering profession.

Gordon was active in several professional organizations throughout his career, including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Oklahoma and National Society of Professional Engineers, Association of Oil Pipe Lines, and the American Petroleum Institute, participating on their General Refining Committee for many years.

He was also heavily involved in his communities, being a member of the Duncan Rotary and Elks Clubs, Duncan and Tulsa Chambers of Commerce, Duncan and Tulsa Industrial Development Associations, and the Philadelphia Council for Area Progress. He was a member of the Board of Directors for Tulsa Salvation Army, Tulsa American Red Cross, and Oklahoma Blue Cross and Blue Shield. His favorite civic duty was serving as President of the Board for the Indian Nations and Valley Forge Boy Scout Councils.

In his spare time, Gordon was an avid reader, especially of history, theology, and sports. He was the world's biggest Notre Dame football fan, always cheering the Irish "onward to victory." Golf was one of his lifelong passions and frustrations. He was a longtime member of St. Antony's Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Tulsa, leaving behind many beloved friends. His greatest joy was spending time with his grandchildren and sharing fantastical stories from his childhood with them.

Gordon is preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Martha, and his youngest son, Kelly Kirk. He is survived by four children, Kristin Green and her husband Roger of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Kevin Kirk and his wife Lisa of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Karen Lueker and her husband Keith of Bixby, Oklahoma, and Ken Kirk of Dallas, Texas.

"Poppop's" grandchildren include Jonathan Green, Jennifer Green, Brian Green, Christopher Green, Tommy Kirk, Mary (Kirk) Tran, Patrick Lueker, Nicole (Lueker) Smith, Hillary (Kirk) Lopez, Aaron Kirk, Braden Kirk, and Jeff Campos. He also adored his eight great-grandchildren and two goddaughters.

Savannah River Project, Aiken, SC - DOE nuclear site