David Arthur Kirkwood

PORTLAND – David Arthur Kirkwood, 89 years old, died peacefully at his home in Portland on Oct. 18, 2023. He was in Hospice Care, after suffering several months from abdominal cancer.

David, son of Arthur Packard Kirkwood and Hedwig Kuehn Kirkwood, was born in Downers Grove, Ill., Feb. 3, 1934. He moved with his parents in 1944 to Summit, N.J., where he later graduated from Summit High School. He then returned to Illinois and graduated from Northwestern University. David served two years in Ansbach, Germany for the U.S. Army, where he met and married Lila Ruth Harris, a U.S. Army Librarian.

They became residents of Westfield, N.J. and he was employed by Western Electric, and later sister companies: AT&T and Long Lines, retiring in 1984. Dave and Lila raised their two children: Kenneth Arthur and Wendy Ruth in the Westfield, N.J. School System. He and his family devoted their vacation time to travel and photography, first in visiting U.S. National Parks, then returning to Europe, visiting Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. Their daughter gave them a 50th wedding anniversary gift and joined them on a trip to Antarctica.

David enjoyed reading history and collected many books. He assisted libraries in preparing for library book sales, both in New Jersey and later in Maine.

After moving to Portland, he and Lila joined the Portland Camera Club and participated there. Having an interest in history and literature, he spent eight years gathering the history of the local camera club and before his death, he wrote, with his daughter as co-editor, “Seeking the Magic Light: A Chronicle of the First Hundred Years of the Portland, Maine Camera Club.”

David is survived by his wife, Lila H. Kirkwood; and his son, Kenneth Arthur Kirkwood and daughter, Wendy Kirkwood Powers; his grandsons Griffin Kirkwood and Connor Kirkwood; and great-grandsons Logan Reid Kirkwood and Xander Brayden Kirkwood.

A service of remembrance will be held on Friday, Nov. 3 at the Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Rd., in South Portland: Visitation 10-11 a.m., Service 11 a.m., Burial at 12 p.m. at Highland Memorial Cemetery. Online condolences may be expressed at http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com.