Carey James Kirkland's Obituary
Carey James Kirkland was born July 23, 1957, to Dan and Shirley Kirkland in Tacoma, Washington. He was the baby of the family. His brother Mark was 3 years older than him. But, once Carey arrived, the family was complete. He loved Tacoma and was proud of where he came from. He had a fun childhood full of games with the other neighborhood kids.
He graduated from Clover Park High School in 1975, where he excelled in sports, particularly baseball and basketball. He continued his education at Washington State University where he majored in Landscape Architecture. He became a lifelong Coug and was quick to egg on any Husky fan with the Cougar Fight Song.
He met his former wife, Rita Weinand, at WSU and they were married on December 16th, 1978. They soon moved to Seattle where Rita earned her nursing degree from Seattle University.
Carey began a long and successful career at Boeing, where he worked the entirety of his 35-year career, until his retirement in 2015. His work began as an analyst in the Spares Department. He eventually rose to management and finished his career as a Global IT Performance Architect. Carey would make friends everywhere he went and many people he worked with at Boeing became his life-long friends.
In 1989, Carey and Rita became the proud parents of Daniel James Kirkland, and in 1992, Melissa Marie Kirkland joined the family. He was a loving and involved dad, coaching several of the kids’ sports teams, doing the carpool for school, and attending every game and concert the kids were in.
Carey James Kirkland passed away on January 24, 2023, of end-stage liver disease. Carey is survived by his children Melissa Kirkland and Daniel Kirkland and daughter-in-law Alexandra Robins. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dan and Shirley Kirkland and his brother, Mark Kirkland. A memorial service will be held on Monday, February 6th, at 2:00 PM at the Mountain View Funeral Home in Lakewood, Washington.
If you would like to make a donation in memoriam, please consider donating to one of the charities selected by the family, listed below:
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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism (NIAAA) at niaaa.nih.gov
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Mental Health America (MHA) at mhanational.org
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