Jeremy Miles Kirkland

Jeremy Miles Kirkland was born on July 8, 1976 in Orlando, Florida. He died on May 16, 2025, in Brooklyn, New York.
What is more important than Jeremy dying is that he lived.
Jeremy was a devoted and loving son to his parents, Diana and Gary. He was an adoring kid brother to Allan and Steve (who preceded him in death).
In 1996, Jeremy met the love of his life, Tara, at the University of Central Florida. This began a nearly 30-year love affair. They moved to Brooklyn in 2001 and were married at the Conservatory Garden in Central Park on October 5, 2003. It was a beautiful, sunny day. They wrote their own vows. Tara's included the phrase, "I love you to the moon and back," from her favorite picture book, Guess How Much I Love You. Throughout their marriage, they included this phrase when they signed their cards to one another.
Jeremy had an adventurous spirit. A few of his and Tara's many travels took them snowboarding in Colorado, hiking in Banff National Park, surfing in Costa Rica, boating off the Amalfi Coast, and cold-plunging into the Aegean Sea. Tulum, Mexico, where he and Tara often vacationed, held a special place in their hearts. They practiced yoga while listening to the sounds of the ocean waves crashing on the shore. This was their favorite sound.
Jeremy could never sit still at home; he was always busy. Tara called him her hummingbird. But he could really relax in a beach chair, reading endlessly. From a young age, he loved to read. He was obsessed with comic books and graphic novels, especially indie comics. He loved literature. Jeremy finished every book he ever started-including Moby Dick, Infinite Jest, and Gravity's Rainbow. He was working his way through The Odyssey before his death, inspired by a recent trip to Greece.
Jeremy also loved movies. Star Wars was the first to capture his heart and his most enduring love (besides Tara). He saw 52 movies in the theater in 2024. He was on pace to match it for 2025.
Jeremy had impeccable taste in music. He curated a playlist for every event of his life, including his wedding. He loved every kind of music, from Johnny Cash to the Beastie Boys, Wilco and The Flaming Lips to MF DOOM. For his memorial, he only requested one song: "First Day of My Life," by Bright Eyes. He and Tara listened to it live in concert at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater on April 17, 2025. They held hands throughout the song.
He especially loved this line: "I'd rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery." He gently teased Tara for buying scratch-off lottery tickets. She won $25 two weeks before he died.
Jeremy loved his work. He started out as a produce department employee at a Winn-Dixie grocery store in Florida. This may have been his favorite job ever. He loved creating order and inviting displays. After moving to New York in 2001, Jeremy grand-opened the first Best Buy in New York City. In 2005, he began a 20-year career with Bank of America, progressing to SVP and market leader for north Brooklyn. He loved that he worked in the same community in which he lived.
Bank of America provided Jeremy with many opportunities for acts of service. He especially loved volunteering with St. John Bread & Life and facilitating the Unidos program at St. Nick's Alliance, which provides workforce development for Latinos in the financial services industry. He was passionate about that work and found it rewarding. He went on to hire many of the program's graduates throughout the years.
Jeremy was a lifelong animal lover and had fond memories of his two Chow Chow dogs from childhood, Danica and Porshe. Though he and Tara never had children, they dearly loved their pets. He is with their two cats, Holden and Ernest, now, while beloved dog Phoebe cares for Tara.
He had the best smile. His laugh was better.
Just one more thing: Jeremy will haunt Tara if she forgets to include that he was an Alabama football fan. Roll Tide!
A private cremation will be held at Green-Wood Cemetery on Saturday, May 31.
A Celebration of Life will be held later in June.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to St. John Bread & Life and St. Nick's Alliance.