John (Jack) Riordan Kirkwood

John (Jack) Riordan Kirkwood of Grand Rapids, age 87, passed away on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, and is now joyously with his beloved son, Jim.

Jack (never John!) was born in Grand Rapids on August 29, 1938, to Don and Frances Kirkwood. He grew up on the west side and attended Saint James grade school (where his mother taught) and Catholic Central High School, where he was an all-city basketball player. He started his college career at Michigan State University, where he hoped to play college ball, but soon decided it wasn’t a good fit and returned to Grand Rapids, where he enrolled at Aquinas College. It’s fortunate that he did, because it was at Aquinas that he met the love of his life, Rita Hasse. He enlisted in the Army in 1960 and served in the Army reserves for six years.  Jack and Rita married in 1962, and were soon joined by four children, Maureen, Joe, Molly, and Jim.

In 1982, Jack purchased a small manufacturing company, Bulman Products. He nurtured and grew the business for the next 30 years. He deeply believed in providing fair wages, generous benefits, and treating employees as family; many Bulman workers remained with the company for decades.

Jack’s generosity, kindness, and sense of humor were always present, despite having to deal with health challenges in his later years. He was an animal lover and the best baby cuddler – any fussy child or grandchild was immediately soothed by being held in his strong arms. His love of sports was lifelong; any exercise had to involve a game of some type for him to participate. He played racquetball, tennis and golf well into his late 70s, and his good-natured competitive spirit continued until his death, as evidenced by the hundreds of games of gin rummy and cribbage he played with anyone who would take him on. He and Rita were generous supporters of many local organizations, particularly those focused on providing housing and food security, and were always the first to offer help to friends and family who needed it. Our family is so fortunate to have had Jack in our lives for as long as we did.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents, J. Donald and Frances (Riordan) Kirkwood, his son Jim Kirkwood, his brother-in-law Jim Sowle, and his sister- and brother- in-law Judy and Angelo Bernardini. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Rita (Hasse) Kirkwood, son Joseph (Susan) Kirkwood, daughters Maureen Kirkwood (Michael Winfield) and Molly Kirkwood, grandchildren Sam Kirkwood, Madeline Kirkwood, Zachary Kirkwood, Lucas Kirkwood, Jack Culp, Alex Kirkwood, and Maeve Clarke, sisters Kathy (Tom) Carnegie and Ann Sowle, brother-in-law Chuck (Sandy) Duff, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He also leaves behind many good friends, particularly the Manistee group, his golf buddies, the faith communities from the Catholic Information Center and Marywood, and long-time friends from high school and college. The family would like to thank the caring and compassionate staff at the Oaks of Belmont for the excellent care Jack received during the past several years.

There will be a visitation on Monday, January 12 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm at O’Brien-Eggebeen-Gerst Funeral Home, 3980 Cascade Rd SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49546. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the Marywood Chapel, 111 Lakeside Dr NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, on Tuesday, January 13, at 10:30 am, immediately followed by a luncheon at the Aquinas College Donnelly Center.

Those wishing to offer expressions of sympathy may make a contribution in Jack’s honor to the Community Food Club, 1100 South Division Ave, Grand Rapids, 49507 (https://www.communityfoodclubgr.org/), Feeding America West Michigan, 3070 Shaffer Ave SE, Kentwood, 49512 (https://www.feedwm.org/), or the Saint Francis Sculpture Garden, PO Box 140761, Grand Rapids, 49514 (https://www.saintfrancissculpturegarden.org/).