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Wayne Palmer Van Kirk

11/11/1937 - 01/30/2018
Service Date: 02/10/2018
Service Time: 12:00 PM
Service Location: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Del Rio 2nd Ward, 1280 W. Del Rio, Chandler, AZ 85225

Wayne Palmer Van Kirk, born November 11, 1937, in Skaneateles, New York, passed away January 30, 2018 in Chandler, Arizona.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, February 10, 2018 at 12:00 pm, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Del Rio 2nd Ward, 1280 W. Del Rio, Chandler, Arizona.

Condolences

  • Jeanne Koniuszy

    Wayne was one of my favorite people at the Mesa FamilySearch Library. His knowledge of the equipment was legendary and his sense of humor was delightful. He was a go-to for anything Macintosh and he was always willing and ready to assist any guest. Condolences to his family. He is a special soul!

  • Wayne was a legend! His was a familiar face at the Mesa Arizona FamilySearch Library for a lot of years. He helps 100’s and maybe 1,000’s of people find information. I’m sure he is very busy where he is at and free of pain. I offer my condolences to his family.

  • Wayne was the first person we met even before we became missionaries at the FamilySearch Library in Mesa. He had a heart of gold and gave flash drives to anyone who didn’t bring one to the library. When he returned from Roots Tech one year he brought me a special magnifying glass. He taught me how to use the equipment at the library and I have been able to pass that knowledge on to many others. I am grateful to call him my friend and I’m glad he no longer suffers. My sympathy to his family and dear friends.

  • Way, you will never feel “cold” again. In God’s Kingdom the weather is just right!

    You can visit with Steve Jobs and learn first hand what he now knows!

    You will be missed helping patrons in the library and working with all your friends.

    Sorry we will miss your funeral service on Saturday as many of us will be helping your many patrons learn more about their heritage.

  • Wayne Van Kirk was a generous soul. He worked at the Mesa Arizona FamilySearch Library for many years and if a guest came in without a flash drive to save their information to, he always had a spare one in his pocket to give to them. If a person did not come in with any change, he would throw in a dime for a copy of something they were researching. He was the go to person on equipment and how to run the scanners, printers and Mac products. He was also a Roots Magic user and helped many with questions about this program. His sly sense of humor caused many to take note of him, but he would return his jokes with a smile and one would know that he was just kidding. We miss him. I send my condolences to his family.

  • Van Kirk made me laugh out loud. I’d call him “cranky” and he’d call me out. When I was first called to be a missionary, he was so good to me. His dry wit and his patience helped me on more than one occasion. I was always impressed with him because it was obvious he “knew his stuff”, but he was never condescending to the patrons, or to me – when I should have had technical answers that I just was not confident about. My heart hurt immediately when the news came that he had passed away, but it’s all good. To his family- please know that he was good at what he did at the Family History Center. You can be proud of him. This Saturday, many of us won’t be able to honor him at his funeral service, because we’ll be at a genealogy conference. Please accept this message as my way to honor him, and give my loving support to you. He is a good soul.

  • Oh Wayne, how we miss your sense of humor, quick wit and the twinkle in your eye. The Family History Center is just not the same without you but I bet you have made friends with the many family members on the other side that you did the work for here on this side. You were an expert on any machine at the Center and were always quick to lend a helping hand, either to a fellow missionary or a struggling patron. We were often the only two in the library that were cold and we would sympathize with each other when everyon else was comfortable with the temperature. He was everyone’s go to guy for all things Mac but certainly knew his way around any computer and helped me learn a new concept more than once. Wayne was a generous man and would slip an extra flash drive or dime to if someone if they hadn’t brought it with them, never expecting to be repaid, just a quick wink and he was off to help someone else.

    Condolences to his family on his passing but rest assured he had a life full of service and will be remembered fondly.

  • Oh, how I wish I had known the last time I saw you about a month ago that it was the last time I would see you until the hereafter. I would have stopped to shake your hand or better yet give you a hug. You and I shared s bond because we were both mac users. But I benefited from your knowldege of Windows when Windows 8 csme out. What a horrible operating system! I benefitted more than once from your knowledge of how to run the scanner. Over at the old library you were there early every morning to open up even though many days you didn’t feel good. I learned that under that “cranky” exterior there was a heart of gold. I will really miss you!

  • He really was a fun friend. I loved to tease him about his love life and tried to get him hooked up with the different ladies that came in. He really knew his electronics and was a great help with the equipment. He also loved his cars. He loved to talk. I truly will miss him. He was a great friend and his talents are already missed at the center.

  • For 10 years I have had the privilege to work alongside Wayne at the Mesa Family History Center. I learned to look beyond the rough exterior to see a man that truly lived the life of a follower of our Savior Jesus Christ, doing acts of kindness in the shadows and always being there to help. He will be missed by all who knew him. May our Heavenly Father bless his family with loving memories of a good man who loved them.

  • Wayne was generous, talented and dependable – I loved working with him at the Mesa FamilySearch Library. He kept the missionaries and guests supplied with flash drives – he always had extras in his pockets! He knew how to work our computers and other equipment better than anyone and made it look so easy. He wasn’t supposed to have sugar but still brought treats for others to enjoy. Wayne was a good and generous man who served at the library faithfully for many years and we will miss him very much. My sincere sympathy to his family.

  • Bryan R Isaacson

    Bon voyage Wayne. Thank you for many years of service. Help some folks up there to fix their computers.

  • What a pleasure it has been to know and serve with Brother Wayne Van Kirkfor many years at the Family Search Library. Wayne would often stop by the reference desk when I was sitting there, and just share a thought, a story about his work, his family or a current happening. Then he would go outside a bit to get warm before helping the next person.
    In addition to giving away dimes for copies and flash drives when needed, he also arrived one day with a computer under his arm and quietly gave it to one of the missionaries who he said, “Needs it more than I do and will put it to good use.”
    He was generous with his smile and ever ready to help. He blessed many lives and was missed when he was not able to be there.
    I am sure that he is still keeping busy and happy. Thanks for your service, Brother!

  • I have only known Wayne for four years. Yes he was rough on the outside like me but he had a heart of gold. I shook his hand a week before he died and he told me he never felt better. I will truly miss him.

  • Carma Lee Ellingson

    Wayne was unique and beloved! He will be missed! I am sad I cannot attend his funeral, but he would be pleased to know that we missionaries will be doing what he loved – teaching and helping others with their family history. The first time I met Wayne he put up that cranky exterior but I could sense his heart of gold and loved him for it. I, like many was a recipient of his knowledge and generosity. Thank you Wayne for the privilege of knowing you!! To your family I say, you are blessed to have had him; he was a true disciple.

  • Eloiza "Harvey" Redondo

    Wayne was a good father excellent provider for his family and very intelligent especially when it came to computers. He had a dry sense of humor a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous smile. He enjoyed helping others at the Mesa Family Service Library.. He will have no more pain. He won’t be cold any longer . He’ll be celebrating in the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father. Rest in Peace

  • You will be very missed. A really good man

  • We will miss Wayne. There can be none other than him!!

  • How many many times did he save my sanity on so many projects! Newsletter creation and distribution just to name a couple! He gave me many flash drives and even a copy machine, because I complained about mine. He had a heart of gold that I loved through and through. He was dedicated to family history and computers and could figure things out without reading the directions, a gift we all admired! He knew he was gruff at times, but he did try…and I think that is all we have to do…keep trying. So sorry we couldn’t make it to the funeral, but our thoughts are about him and our prayers are with his family!

  • Ron & Anne Masters

    Wayne, you will be missed. We’ve enjoyed our e-mail exchanges thru the years and when Veterans Day rolled around, looked forward to calling you and wishing you a happy birthday. Our hearts go out to your family and especially to your sister, Wanda, who I know will miss your calls also. So glad we were able to see you both this past summer. ( my apologies for this late condolence, we have been out with the rv these past months and have not been home to get on the computer ). Looking toward the end, when we all will be reunited in spirit. Rest in peace.

  • When I first started at the Family History Library Wayne was one of the first to give me encouragement. He was always willing to help anyone. He was always very kind to me. I consider him a dear friend and I am truly going to miss him.

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