Earl L. Kirk died September 29, 2006, in Sanibel, Fla., after a short illness.

Born Nov. 13, 1912, in Hutchinson, Kan., son of Albert Earl and Gladys Moore Kirk. He lived a full and wonderful life, traveling the world with his beloved wife, Mary Ann, and daughters Diane and Karen.

A longtime Hutchinson resident, Earl had lived in Sanibel the last three years with caregivers and his dog Blackie.

While in Kansas, Earl was a long-time car dealer and businessman. A graduate of the University of Kansas (where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity), and Washburn Law School. He had owned Earl Kirk Chrysler-Plymouth and AMC Jeep, Downtown Dodge, Earl Kirk Leasing and Downtown Mini Storage.

The name "Kirk" had been associated with the automobile business since 1920, the year his father Albert E. Kirk built the three story building at 2nd and Washington and moved his Hutchinson Motor Car business (which had the distributorship for 18 dealers in Kansas and Oklahoma) from his South Main location. They initially sold Pierce Arrow and Hudson cars.

Earl Kirk acquired the DeSoto franchise in 1956, and later the Plymouth, Dodge, Dodge Truck and Chrysler lines. He also had owned Kirk Auto Shippers and car agencies in Garden City and Great Bend, Kan.

Earl Kirk, the "dean" of motor row auto dealers, sold his agencies in 1978, and remained a businessman with Earl Kirk Leasing and Downtown Mini Storage until this year.

Kirk had been in the automobile business at the same location for 42 years, except for a stint in Naval Intelligence during World War II in the American Campaign.

Although he had a law degree and was admitted to the Kansas bar, he never practiced law, instead joining his father in the automobile business after he graduated in 1936.

He was an avid gin player with friends at the Hutchinson Town Club (where he was a charter member) and golfer at Prairie Dunes Country Club.

Kirk loved his native Hutchinson, Kansas and supported many community organizations and charities including the Cosmosphere and Dillon Nature Center and as a former president of Downtown Kiwanis and long-time usher at First Presbyterian Church.

In 1999, he and his wife Mary Ann donated $100,000 for state-of-the-art radiation treatment for cancer patients at the Chalmers Cancer Treatment Center.

His personal care of his wife, Mary Ann, who died in 2000, endeared him to everyone. He made sure her life was filled with all the happiness and joy possible for one suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. His daughters and grandchildren have tried to live up to that gold standard of care for him in his last years. He swam in his pool until a few days before he died, calling us to, "Come on in. The water's great."

Recent highlights of his life were the wedding in Carmel of his grandson Kirk Richards and his wife, Kerri; and a personal conversation with President George W. Bush on his 91st birthday during a private host committee fundraising reception in Fort Myers, Fla.

The President congratulated Kirk on his longevity, and he was later introduced along with dignitaries present in the crowd of 700 people at the home of Al Hoffman, now ambassador to Portugal.

"I certainly hope I get to celebrate my 91st birthday," the president told Kirk as they posed for a photo.

Earl seldom complained and was always gracious, kind, generous and loving. He had a unique sense of humor and wit that will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

He leaves a spirit of adventure and a legacy of caring to his daughters, Diane Wengler of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Karen Richards and her partner Susan Gordon of Sanibel, Fla., Diane's children Brian Wengler and Tina Glader and her husband, Scott; and Karen's children, Kevin Richards and Kirk Richards and his wife, Kerri; and four great-grandchildren, Amaya and Ryan Richards and Ashley and Trevor Glader.

Memorial services will be held 10 a.m. Monday, October 9, 2006, at the First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Tim Soule presiding. A private burial has taken place in Fairlawn Burial Park.

Donations may be made to the Chalmers Cancer Treatment Center or C.R.O.W. (Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife), 3883 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel, FL 33957, both in care of the Elliott Mortuary, 1219 North Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.

Personal condolences may be left at www.elliottmortuary.com.