Kirkpatrick Swiss

1940 - 2025

Kirk Swiss, 84, died on October 7, 2025.

He died from complications due to Alzheimer's disease at Springside Rehab and Nursing Center in Pittsfield. Born in Washington, DC, Kirk spent his boyhood in Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Caring for his mother, struggling with pulmonary disease and dementia, imbued Kirk with a lifelong empathy for others, a passionate commitment to justice, and a penchant for activism, fighting for causes which he held dear.

His search for pursing truth led him to earn a master's degree in divinity from Pittsburg Theological Seminary early on, yet turn away from ordination because he questioned differences among biblical texts. Over the ensuing years he worked in special education, helping troubled boys at the Institute for Behavioral Research at Johns Hopkins University. He cared for the elderly at the Fellowship Community in New York state. He cofounded an environmental action group, "Earth Now." After moving to the Berkshires, he took a job as a heating auditor for CTE at Mass Save, so he could, he said, "meet concerned people liked me."

It was in Massachusetts that he met his partner of 13 years, Virginia O'Leary, while they worked as campaign volunteers for Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Richard Neal. Their love was instant and fierce.

Kirk was an accomplished handyman who excelled at working with his hands and could fix...well...name something and he could fix it. He loved throwing and glazing pots, playing with Wynton the standard poodle, and keeping up with the daily news, no matter how grim. He relished old movies and had a magnificent collection of them. He found joy in the adventure of travel. He hated dishonesty, subterfuge and duplicity, especially as it plays out on the national and world stage.

One of Kirk's proudest achievements, was the creation and marketing of "Timelines'" a book he designed to help families record and celebrate their histories. The book offered readers a fill-in-format enabling them to list memorable dates, share beloved anecdotes, post important photos, and pass the whole thing on to appreciative future generations.

In all, Kirk tried to live humbly and with purpose, a gentle, loving man, who had a vast appreciation of humanity, a keen sense of justice, and delighted in making people laugh with his quick wit and awful puns. Like too many good people, he thought he wasn't good enough, failing to appreciate what all who knew him did, that his strength, sensitivity and keen observant nature made the world a better place every day.

He is survived by Virginia O'Leary, his devoted life partner, whose life he enriched immeasurably, as well as his daughters, Sharon Rose West and Alysondra Mila Madrid and their families, and Wynton, the poodle. There will be no funeral service for Kirk, but donations to the environmental cause of your choice in his memory would be appreciated.