Fred Kirby, 86, of Williamsburg, VA, passed away peacefully on September 19, 2020. He was predeceased by his parents, Bronson and Erma Kirby. He leaves to cherish his memory his loving wife of 57 years, Marcia and loving relatives and their spouses: nephew, Jim Goodwin (Shari) of Marshall, VA; nieces, Robin Long (Greg) of Snowmass Village, CO and Michelle Godwin (Jeff Wax) of Murrieta, CA and sister-in-law, Bobbie Goodwin of Menifee, CA.

Fred was born in Columbus, Ohio, but spent his early childhood in Anderson, Indiana, before the family moved to Santa Monica, CA. He graduated from Santa Monica High School, received a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Denver University, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley, and completed post doctorate work at Duke. Fred married Marcia, who he always loved and treasured from the time he first met her when they were both undergraduates. They waited to marry until Fred completed his education, then Fred began a 30-year career as a research chemist at the DuPont Company in Wilmington, Delaware.

As an avid sports fan, all the schools Fred attended provided many special moments. He earned varsity letters in baseball and basketball at Santa Monica High School and played on an intramural baseball team at Berkley. Along with rooting for his own schools, he cheered on Marcia’s undergraduate and graduate schools, UCLA and USC. He was happy to have such stellar sports teams to watch on TV. He and Marcia had fun tailgating and attending football games at the University of Delaware and later at William and Mary.

Golf soon became his favorite sport and he continued to play for over 50 years. His interest in golf first sparked when he spent summers in Santa Monica caddying at Riviera Country Club. He joined the DuPont Country Club and participated in team matches in the Philadelphia Golf Association. Once retired, they moved to Governor’s Land in Williamsburg, where he joined the Two Rivers Country Club and enjoyed the golf competition and the many friendships he developed. Fred and Marcia spent vacations playing golf courses throughout the United States and Great Britain, many times with groups of friends on trips arranged by John Gerber. A couple of trips to St. Andrews, Scotland remained a special highlight of these trips.

Their lives were enriched by their long friendships with the late Dr. Allan Nader and his wife, Helen of Northbrook, IL, Arne and Connie Svindland of Appleton, WI and John and Peg Gerber of Wilmington, DE. They had wonderful support from their Governor’s Land neighbors, Paul and Maggie Sullivan, their earthly angels and also from their many other close friends and neighbors, even those who moved away like Jen and Bill Beebe and the late Denny and Yvonne Speidel, who were exceptional neighbors.

Our deep appreciation to the wonderful staff, nurses and aides at Edgeworth Park who provided such loving attention to Fred the past nine months. Tonya, Tanika and Tabitha were gems!

Fred always remained dedicated to the University of California’s Dept of Chemistry. Those wishing to make a memorial contribution may want to consider the following fund set up to provide graduate school fellowships for students at the Dept. of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley:

Contributions can be addressed to

Dr. Fred B. Kirby and Marcia Avellone Kirby endowment to support graduate school fellowships at the Dept. of Chemistry in the College of chemistry

                    Gift Planning Office

                    University of California, Berkeley Foundation

                    2080 Addison Street,  Suite 5

                   Berkeley, CA  94720-4200

Cremation Society of Virginia-Newport News assisted the family with their arrangements.