John Grayson Kirk

John Grayson Kirk passed away on July 25, 2024, at the Pat Roche Hospice Home in Hingham, Mass. He was 96 years old.

Born in Philadelphia on July 18, 1928, he grew up in Madison, Wisconsin; and Scarsdale, New York. He was the only child of Marion Sands Kirk and Grayson Louis Kirk, a noted political scientist and former president of Columbia University. 

Kirk attended Scarsdale High School, Harvard University and Columbia University. After his studies, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. A Lieutenant Junior Grade, Kirk served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge during the Korean War.

After his military service, he embarked on a career in publishing, achieving great success as an editor. He started out as an editor with Free Europe Press, followed by a time as editor of Walker and Company. He then edited Diplomat magazine, which was published by Metromedia, and later became editor-in-chief of the trade book division of Prentice-Hall. He retired in the 1990s and enjoyed spending time with his wife, Eve Wengler Kirk, and pursued his many interests, which included travel, aviation, naval history and literature. He is the author of several books, including America Now and Great Weapons of World War II. A longtime resident of New York, he lived in Scarsdale, New York City and Bronxville. He spent his later years in Quincy, Mass., where two of his daughters and their families live.

He is survived by four daughters from his first marriage to Eleanor Huser Kirk: Diana Kirk, of Quincy, Mass.; Deborah Kirk, of Berkeley, Calif.; Dorian Kirk Glotzer (Mitchell), of Napa, Calif.; and Denise Kirk Dow (John), of Quincy, Mass., as well as two grandchildren, Ben Barrett and Kate Barrett.