Roger Lee Kirkman, 78, fifth and youngest child of Loudolf C. and Nina Kirkman, was born Feb. 13, 1928, at Houston. He died Feb. 3, 2007, at West Plains after a struggle with Parkinson’s Syndrome.
He grew up fishing on the Piney River; quail, rabbit and squirrel hunting. In high school he played basketball.
After graduation from Houston High School in 1946, he joined the U.S. Army and served in South Korea. Taking advantage of the G.I. bill, he completed his bachelor’s degree in zoology and a master’s degree in wildlife management in 1956 at Colorado State.
He married Lois Osbourn Kelly Aug. 4, 1956, becoming the father to her two children, Harry and Kathy Kelly. The Kirkmans had one daughter.
Mr Kirkman was an educational advisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation until 1958, when he became a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service.
He retired in 1987, receiving the E. Sidney Stevens Award as outstanding Missouri wildlife biologist of the year.
The Kirkmans moved to Houston, where he farmed and gardened. He enjoyed Democrat politics, bird dogs and home-cooked meals.
He was a member of Ozark Baptist Church, where he was a team Sunday school teacher with his wife.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Jim; and one sister, Vera.
Surviving are his wife of the home at Houston; three children, Dr. Harry Kelly of West Plains, Kathy Richardson of Houston and Kari Ricketts of Laguna Niguel, Calif.; two sisters, Mary Lou Stine of McHenry, Ill., and Barbara Oehler of Lakewood, Colo., and six grandchildren.
Services were Feb. 10 at the Ozark Baptist Church with the Rev. Ed Hamilton and the Rev. Bill Jetton officiating. Burial was in the Pine Lawn Cemetery under the direction of Evans Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of Care.
