Cassius Kirk

Cassius L. Kirk, Jr.

Born in Bozeman, Montana, on June 8, 1929, he died of cancer in Stanford Hospital on September 22, 2014.
He attended lower schools in Bozeman and in December 1943 moved with his parents and siblings to San Jose where he graduated from Lincoln High School. He enrolled in Stanford University in 1947 and received his bachelor's degree in 1951. He enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, (Boalt Hall) in 1951, graduating with honors in 1954. From 1955 to 1956 he served with the United States Army of Occupation in Germany. Following discharge from the Army, he was associated with the San Francisco law firm now known as Cooley, Godward from 1956 to 1960.
In 1960 he was appointed staff counsel for business affairs at Stanford University and served in that position until 1978, when he resigned to accept the position of chief business officer for Menlo School and College. He resigned from Menlo School and College in 1981 and since that time was a principal or investor in a variety of Bay Area business endeavors, including office buildings on Sand Hill Road, Just Closets, a seven store retail storage accessory and custom closet company, and commercial office buildings in Redwood City. He was one of the original investors with the late Thomas Ford, the initial developer of low-density garden offices on Sand Hill Road.
He endowed two professorships at Stanford University and was active in fund raising for Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. He served as a vice president for community affairs of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and, a regional national vice chairman of Stanford's Annual Fund, and was on the advisory board of Allied Arts, and the board of directors of Pocket Opera of San Francisco. He also served and a number of terms as president of Menlo Towers Association. He traveled extensively throughout the world, making more than twenty-five trips abroad, including seven around-the-world trips.
He is survived by his sister Patricia Dowd of Seattle and eleven nephews and nieces and was predeceased by his twin brother Lawrence and sister Jo-Ann.
At the decedent's request, no services are planned.