John Curtis Kirkman

John C. (Johnny) Kirkman, 76, of Ormond Beach, Florida passed away on April 3rd,2024, at Halifax Medical Center surrounded by his family. He was a loving and devoted husband, a wonderful grandfather and great grandfather- and a beloved brother.
A funeral service will be held at 10am on Friday, April 26th at Pinello Funeral Home 1036 Derbyshire Rd, Daytona Beach, FL. Burial will follow at the National Cemetery, Cape Canaveral.
John was born in Richmond, Indiana on April 10th, 1947, to the late Curtis Kirkman and Beverly (Burton) Kirkman.
John had a tremendous love of country, as evident in his military service. After graduating from Richmond High School in 1965, he joined the Marines and deployed to Vietnam. He received numerous medals in recognition of his service. John was extremely proud to be a part of the Marine Corps, spoke fondly of the men and women he served with and enjoyed the camaraderie of meeting other veterans and was always an advocate for those interested in a career in the armed forces.
He had many passions- and loved playing golf with his friends- and was excited as he began to share this hobby with his family, golfing regularly with his grandson, Lawson, and spending numerous afternoons at the driving range with other members of the family.
John would always "light up a room," with his optimism and perpetually cheerful nature and had a gift for making friends effortless wherever he would go. A true "kid at-heart", he loved Christmas, and making it special for the children in the family- whether it was shopping for gifts for those he loved, planning parties, singing carols, or even helping Santa put together presents for under the tree- he enjoyed the warmth of the family around the holidays.
Family was the source of John's greatest joy- and he excelled in the role of Grandpa. He enjoyed his daily routine of picking up his great-grandsons, Tucker and Trace, from school in the golf cart. And when it came to sports, there was no bigger cheerleader than John, who loved rooting for his grandkids- watching them play football, soccer, and basketball. He and his wife Debbie enjoyed traveling, were active in their church (Calvary), participating in marriage groups as well as outreach programs, and were gracious hosts to their extended family who would often come to visit them in Ormond Beach. Many life long memories were made during these trips.
Family and friends will miss his gentle nature and loving spirit- and his passing will leave a tremendous void, but we all treasure the time we had with him and are blessed to have had him in our lives. We are comforted in knowing he is with our Lord and fully healed.
He is survived by his loving wife Deborah Gilmer Kirkman, her daughters Anna (Jason) Jones of Ormond Beach, FL and Kimberly (Tom) Connelly of Avondale, PA, and grandchildren- Kristina (Matt) Lloyd, Kamry (Jeremy) Dean, Michael Connelly, Allison Connelly, Elise Jones, Lawson Jones and five great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters Suzi (Larry) Hengstler and Terri (Mike) Kinsey and sister-in-law Natalie Kirkman, wife of the late Tony Kirkman.
John was preceded in death by his brothers- Mike Kirkman and Tony Kirkman.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of John Curtis Kirkman, please visit our floral store.